Divisions of opinion

NATIONAL HURLING LEAGUE: Seán Moran on the start of the hurling leagues, and the differing views on how they should function

Hurling's calendar year, introduced in 1997, is nothing new, although the GAA has resolutely refused to follow its most successful formulation - the eight-team first division - in the five years since. The NHL that starts tomorrow sees 12 top teams divided into two sections. Although it represents an improvement on last season, when those two sections comprised seven teams each and frequently struggled to provide interesting fixture lists, the presence of Derry, Meath and Dublin means that an awful lot of matches are still going to have a predestined look.

The league's most obvious function is to prepare counties for the championship and that remains the priority for managers, but the usual dichotomy of how to get the best out of it is still evident.

Under Nicky English's guidance Tipperary have been seen to restore the competition to a position of relevance. Since he took over three years ago, English has let Tipp off the leash in the spring and the result has been two NHL titles, including, most significantly, last year when the All-Ireland was added in the autumn.

Yet, there is an insistent logic in Eamon Cregan's feeling that teams can only peak so often in a season, three times at most he reckons. Whereas no side consciously peaks for league finals, it's possible to use up good displays and as the Limerick manager pointed out, that has particular consequences for teams who have to make their way through the new qualifier system in this summer's championship.

Last year it was noticeable that Tipperary struggled at various stages of the championship and disappointed general expectations against both Clare and Limerick as well as the first day against Wexford. Ultimately all of that made no difference to the achievements of the year, which were deserved reward for a relentlessly positive approach. But a clear nexus between success in the two competitions has yet to be proved.

Whereas no side consciously peaks for league finals, it's possible to use up

good displays and that has particular consequences for teams who have to make their way through the new qualifier system

in this summer's championship.

In the light of the current bad weather and the havoc it wreaks with the schedules, it's worth bearing in mind that five years ago, the NHL started in March and avoided February altogether. The competition managed its eight-team first division by staging the play-offs over the summer - a departure that perplexingly proved a box-office disaster. To create more space for an eight-team top division, the league play-offs could be abandoned and the title simply awarded to whoever finishes first.

There is, however, a feeling abroad that such modifications may be redundant in the long run. A more radical reform is desirable, according to new Offaly and former Tipperary manager Tom Fogarty. "Ultimately the championship would be better run off as a league," he says. "This would give more matches at the right time of the year."

If such a format were to be introduced (and it's probably more a matter of when than if), the league would have to competitively constituted - which wouldn't leave room for much more than eight teams. Hurling at the top level would benefit from a decent supply of top-class matches during the summer and hurling at the next level down would also be the better for a realistic competitive context.

Dominic McKinley, the new Derry manager, formerly held the same post with his native Antrim. As a player he reached an All-Ireland final and has seen Ulster hurling at its best and worst. He believes the ability to compete has to be earned.

"There are teams in the province that would make a good intermediate championship. At the moment Ulster teams aren't good enough to compete with the top counties. I think that would help hurling. When I played there was a rule that a county had to win two All-Ireland Bs in three years to qualify for senior, and I think maybe there was a good point there. People get carried away and set their sights too high.

"Deep down they know they've no chance but are happy to turn up on the big day, get the usual hiding and have people going out the gates saying that they're rubbish."

Such considerations may be for the future but it's getting closer.