For structural reasons, the Allianz Hurling League has trailed behind its football counterpart in terms of profile and interest.
The current format at least may not be as neutered and pointless as that which prevailed between 2020 and 2023.
After a few seasons where relegation was effectively rendered an impossibility for the established Liam MacCarthy teams - presumably at the behest of the inter-county manager caucus - the top two leagues are, since last year, once more divided on merit or performance-based lines.
It would be a stretch to say that this change, while welcome, had a transformative impact on the hurling league in 2025.
The stakes did not feel any drastically higher than they did in the preceding years, though the campaign did conclude with reigning All-Ireland champions Clare getting relegated and taking the step down to 1B.
Quite how much of a penalty this is remains dubious.
Back in 2017 and 2018, the supposed glory days of the hurling league, it didn't escape the notice of some that both those years' All-Ireland champions had spent spring pottering around in the relatively stress-free environs of 1B.
The general conclusion taken from last year was that there is ultimately no format tweak that can get around the reality that league is league.
This is doubly true in an era where the championship is also a league, of sorts.
And yet for all that, the 2025 Allianz Hurling League did prove in the main to be a reasonable predictor of championship form, albeit with the fortunes flipping violently between the two national finals.
The 2025 league decider also gave us a rare sellout, though this was obviously far more a reflection of the extraordinary hype levels surrounding the Cork hurlers rather than any sudden grá for the league, per se.
Clare and Wexford dropped out of the top tier last season, both of whom subsequently failed to progress from the provincial round robins.
Waterford and Offaly take their place in 1A, both having crucially beaten Dublin in what was understood to be a three-way battle for the two promotion spots.
It's a landmark moment in Offaly hurling's long journey back to respectability and competitiveness - their first runout in a genuine top tier of the league since 2011.
CORK
2025 league: Champions
2025 championship: Runners-up
Manager: Ben O'Connor (first year)
Captain: Darragh Fitzgibbon
Squad news: Patrick Horgan's retirement was naturally the biggest news of the off-season, the Glen Rovers great waiting for a decent time to elapse after the final disappointment to make his formal announcement. He's since joined the Under-20 set-up as a selector.
Sarsfields' Jack O'Connor has been excluded from the 36-man panel despite a series of excellent displays in the Cork SHC, though the manager insists the door is not shut entirely. Conor Lehane, not for the first time, is also left out in the cold.
Séamus Harnedy, Micheál Mullins, and Ben Cunningham are nursing injuries but Padraig Power is nearing a return to full fitness after injuring his cruciate last year.
Lie of the land
On paper, Cork are still a massively talented and occasionally spectacular side, many of whom hold All-Ireland medals from the U20 grade. On the other hand, they're coming off what must be one of the most psychologically devastating All-Ireland final losses anyone can recall.
The slate was wiped clean to an extent in the off-season, with manager Pat Ryan departing after a campaign in which he guided Cork to a first Munster title in seven years but one which was deeply traumatic on a personal level after the death of his brother.
Ben O'Connor's appointment is perceived by outsiders as a shift to more of a hard cop regime.
O'Connor, one of the greats of the 2000s and an All-Ireland U20 winning manager, has terrific credentials. Although his reign got off to a strange start with the departure of newly installed first team coach Niall O'Halloran before they'd even played a pre-season game.
O'Connor was at pains to say there was no great bust-up, insisting that the pair simply came to a simultaneous realisation that they weren't going to be able to work together.
Their large squad will be jockeying to impress the new boss during the league, which could drive performances in the spring.
Ben Cunningham, son of Ger and the lead marksman on O'Connor's 2023 All-Ireland winning U20 side, attracted praise from the gaffer for his 1-10 haul in their Munster league over Clare last week. He may be among those to play a more prominent role.
Prediction: 3rd
GALWAY
2025 league: 3rd
2025 championship: quarter-finalists
Manager: Micheál Donoghue (second year of second stint)
Captain: Darren Morrissey
Squad news: A vital link to the late 2010s stepped away, with the great David Burke announcing his retirement before Christmas at the age of 35. The 2017 All-Ireland winning captain and man of the match was still a calming and influential force in the middle third right up until the end and may well leave a vacuum in terms of leadership.
Lie of the land
As Micheál Donoghue enters the second year of his second stint, Galway are stuck in roughly the same place they've been in for a few years. Seeking to extract more juice from the weather-beaten veterans of the 2017 All-Ireland victory, while waiting impatiently for the successor generation to launch themselves on the national stage.
For all the talk of transition, they have remained alarmingly dependent on a number of players who've been around since before the first Trump administration.
Last year finished with Cathal Mannion picking up his second All-Star - in spite of Galway's mediocre championship campaign - exactly 10 years after his first.
This year's league, like the last four or five, will be another trawl for young players. Cyril Farrell, optimistic as ever, sounded an upbeat note about the new generation of up and comers last week.
Historically, Galway do have form for improving quite rapidly right at the moment when morale is at its lowest and talk of transition abounds - 1985 and 2012 spring to mind.
Aaron Niland, brother of Evan and touted for big things since his schooldays, and Rory Burke could make a breakthrough in the league. Jason Rabbitte, son of Joe, has a Johnny Glynn-like frame and ball-winning ability, while Clarinbridge's Joshua Ryan, son of 80s star Eanna, showed flashes of class in his few runouts for the seniors last year.
Prediction: 4th
KILKENNY
2025 league: 4th
2025 championship: Semi-finalists
Manager: Derek Lyng (fourth year)
Captain: TJ Reid
Squad news: The biggest news is that Kilkenny will be without three-time All-Star defender Huw Lawlor and half-forward Billy Ryan, the pair opting out for the year to go travelling. Lyng hasn't closed off the possibility that they may return at some stage in 2026 but told the KCLR podcast this week that "we're planning without them".
Adrian Mullen will be out for another while yet following his broken thumb incurred in the fracas in the Ballyhale-Kilkormac/ Killoughey Leinster club game. David Blanchfield, Fionan Mackessy and Tom Phelan are nursing injuries, while Harry Shine and Tommy Walsh are still recovering from long-term injuries.
TJ Reid, who turned 38 in November, is not only not retiring but has been appointed captain for the third time.
Lie of the land
Kilkenny are now in their longest Liam MacCarthy drought since the turn of the 20th century. They've surpassed the barren run from 1983-92 and before that from 1947-57.
Their form last summer suggested again that they're still not far off. It was the fourth year in a row in which they were eliminated by the champions and in only one of those - the 2023 final - were they well beaten. The manner of last year's defeat might be the most galling of all, and not just because it was one of their oldest rivals administering it.
Having been inadvertently fed misinformation by the Croke Park scoreboard, they sought to manufacture goals far earlier than was necessary, when tapping over a couple of handy points would have served them better.
Theoretically, the Cats should have greater scope to go hard at the league given that they, above any other county, know with reasonable certainty they will be progressing as far as the All-Ireland series. The pressure to peak in time for the early rounds of the championship that hang over the Munster counties don't apply here.
Now entering his fourth season, Lyng has guided Kilkenny to two league finals, losing both. Last year's effort was more uneven, the most memorable game being the surreal loss at home to Tipperary where four players were sent off in the third quarter, three from Kilkenny.
Mossy Keoghan was in stunning form this time last year, racking up 2-24 from play, form which he largely carried into the championship.
Prediction: 5th
LIMERICK
2025 league: 5th
2025 championship: Quarter-finalists
Manager: John Kiely (10th year)
Captain: Cian Lynch
Squad news: The most prolific hoister of silverware in hurling history, Declan Hannon, retired in the off-season.
A greater bombshell was Seamus Flanagan's omission from the panel. The full-forward had minimal involvement after being captured hitting Niall O'Leary with the butt of his hurl in an off-the-ball flare up. He escaped official sanction but Kiely proceeded to unofficially suspend the player himself, labelling it a "poor" act.
Jason Gillane, Micheál Houlihan, Fergal O'Connor and Cian Scully have also been released.
2018 All-Ireland winner Shane Dowling, after returning to the panel as a back-up keeper, has stepped away again.
Lie of the land
Kiely's reign enters double digit territory this year.
Few would have foreseen the glories that were to come when he was appointed and would have gotten precious little indication of it from his first year in the role either.
Times are changing, though. Their era of total dominance looks to be over and they were finally dethroned in Munster last summer, albeit after a penalty shootout.
Their attitude to the league has varied over the years. Limerick have won three National Leagues in the Kiely-Kinnerk era, though two of them occurred back-to-back in the earlier period of their reign in 2019-20.
Since 2021, they've generally taken a relaxed approach to league results, save for 2023 when they devoured Kilkenny in the final with some relish.
Prior to the 2022 season, Kiely noted in a Zoom press conference that the league final was only a fortnight before the start of the Munster SHC, which was received by the gentlemen of the press as an implicit admission that his team would not be in it.
When they did proceed to win the league the next year, it was followed by one of their scratchier Munster campaigns, when they needed a narrow win over Cork in the final round to reach the provincial final. The schedule is still the same this year, with Round 1 in Munster coming a fortnight after the league final.
The air of invincibility has faded, the miles are clocking up but we've seen in recent times other generational teams can gather themselves for one final push.
Prediction: 2nd (Champions)
OFFALY
2025 league: Division 1B runners-up
2025 championship: Provincial round robin exit (5th in Leinster championship)
Manager: Johnny Kelly (fourth year)
Captain: Charlie Mitchell
Squad news: Jason Sampson and David King have both retired ahead of the 2026 season. They're also riddled with injuries. David Nally (shoulder), Ciaran Burke (ankle ligaments) and Killian Sampson (groin) will miss the early stages of the league. Newly installed captain Charlie Mitchell is also struggling with a virus.
Lie of the land
Offaly's rise back to hurling's top table looked to be on an even faster track than was anticipated after they pipped Dublin to league promotion last year and then came mightily close to winning their Leinster championship opener in Parnell Park - their first match in the province since 2018.
After that, there was much giddy talk they could take a Galway side in a vulnerable state following their tanking in Nowlan Park. That game provided a bracing reality check, however, with Offaly once more resembling a yo-yo team as they shipped a double-digit hammering despite having an extra man for the entire second half.
From then on, the 2025 Leinster SHC was primarily focused on survival and the de facto relegation play-off game against Antrim in the final round. Vitally, they clung on to win by five points and bank the gains made from the past two seasons. The performance was edgy but the result devoured every other consideration.
With injuries piling up, this first spin in a 'genuine' top tier since 2011 could be a rough learning curve.
Prediction: 7th
TIPPERARY
2025 league: Runners-up
2025 championship: Champions
Manager: Liam Cahill (fourth year)
Captain: Ronan Maher
Squad news: Alan Tynan is expected to miss the entirety of the league after picking up a shoulder injury in the Munster League. Ronan Maher will also sit out the early rounds of the campaign.
Full-back Brian McGrath picked up an ankle injury against Kerry though its extent is uncertain.
Otherwise, Cahill has named an enormous 43-man squad, with 13 players who weren't involved last year, a number which includes former All-Star keeper Brian Hogan. Noel McGrath, the first four-time All-Ireland winner in Tipp since the 1960s, is back for another campaign.
Lie of the land
Tipp may still be in a state of grace after last year's most unexpected of All-Ireland victories.
Have they the constitution to win the county's first back-to-back since John Doyle was manning the full-back line?
Cahill's teams have form when it comes to roaring out of the blocks in the league. Indeed, prior to last July, going too hard in the league was highlighted as one of the chief things he was doing wrong.
He guided Waterford to the league title in his final season there - before things abruptly derailed in championship - and since his arrival, Tipp finished top twice and second once, winning 14 of 16 division/group games.
Early indications are the manager isn't altering his philosophy in 2026 (why would he now?) There was a degree of bemusement at the strength of the side selected for the Munster league game in Tralee.
Cahill wasn't blown away by the performance, which saw Tipp win by nine after trailing by a point in miserable conditions. Oisín O'Donoghue, as he did in the All-Ireland semi-final, found the net in the decisive score in the game.
Prediction: 1st
WATERFORD
2025 league: Division 1B champions
2025 championship: Provincial round robin exit (5th in Munster championship)
Manager: Peter Queally (second year)
Squad news: One of the bigger headline items is that Austin Gleeson is out of action again, the 30-year old former Hurler of the Year dropping off the panel due to injury setbacks.
It's not the first time the Mount Sion player has stepped away. He chose to opt out for the 2024 season, citing a desire to regain his appetite away from the panel. Paudie Fitzgerald is also ruled out for four months.
On the plus side, Calum Lyons is back with the squad after a year out, having returned from Australia.
Lie of the land
Queally's first league campaign began ominously with a loss to Carlow, though Waterford re-gathered themselves sufficiently to overcome both Offaly and Dublin, beating the former in the final in Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
Their latest attempt to advance from the Munster round robin began promisingly with a home win over the All-Ireland champions but ended as all the others have done.
Ballygunner have just claimed their and the county's second All-Ireland club title and 2025 captain Dessie Hutchinson has been in rampant form over the club season. However, having a dominant, generational club team within a county can often be a mixed blessing for an inter-county side (witness Kilcoo vis-a-vis the Down footballers).
Prediction: 6th
Listen to the RTÉ GAA Podcast on the RTÉ Radio Player, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Watch Tipperary v Galway in the Allianz Hurling League on Saturday from 6.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on the RTÉ News App and on rte.ie/sport. Listen to Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
