A look at the teams competing in this year's Connacht Championship.
Galway
Manager: Peter Ford (second year).
Titles: Connacht 43 (2005), All-Ireland 9 (2001).
Last year: Connacht champions; beaten All-Ireland quarter-final by Cork, 2-14 to 2-11.
NFL position: Second in Division One B and beaten finalists.
A really strong revival during the NFL could have ended that little bit better. Peter Ford won't be losing sleep over not winning the title, but Galway were brushed aside too easily when Kerry came at them. It's a crucial year with the younger talents no longer neophytes and the likes of Pádraic Joyce and Michael Donnellan unlikely to be around much longer.
Defence has been impressive, but they need more ball-winning capacity at centrefield and in the half forwards if the blue-chip full forwards are to pay expected dividend. Seem to have a hold over Mayo in Connacht and will want to improve on last year's All-Ireland quarter-final.
Leitrim
Manager: Dessie Dolan Snr (second year).
Titles: Connacht 2 (1994), All-Ireland 0.
Last year: Beaten Connacht semi-final by Galway 1-11 to 1-8; beaten Qualifier Round Two by Meath, 1-12 to 1-8.
NFL position: Fourth in Division Two A.
Last year's draw gave Leitrim the opportunity to ambush Sligo and that momentum was enough to get them to within three points of Galway the next day out. This year they meet Mayo and there will be no shock developments. The qualifiers represent Leitrim's only hope.
They have a nice solidity down the centre from full back John McKeon through Barry McWeeney at centre back and Barry Prior at centre forward. Michael Foley gets most of the scores with James Glancy riding shotgun.
London
Manager: Noel Dunning.
Titles: Connacht 0, All-Ireland 0.
Last year: Beaten Connacht Round One by Roscommon 0-12 to 1-8; beaten Qualifier Round One by Monaghan, 2-18 to 1-9.
NFL position: Eighth in Division Two A.
Not a lot that can be said about the children of the diaspora. The Celtic Tiger has left them a little high and dry and Mayo are likely to do the same. The league campaign was a singular disaster which yielded nulle points and the worst scoring record in the competition. Would a long-term concentration on the development of indigenous or second generation players in London not be a wiser use of resources?
Mayo
Manager: Mickey Moran (first year).
Titles: Connacht 40 (2004), All-Ireland 3 (1951).
Last year: Beaten Connacht Final by Galway 0-8 to 0-10; beaten All-Ireland Quarter-final by Kerry, 2-15 to 0-18.
NFL position: Won Division One A; beaten in league semi-final by Galway, 1-11 to 1-6.
Mickey Moran has surprised many people with the vigour of his approach in Mayo. A long and thorough haul through the county for new talent was both productive and politically wise.
Ger Brady, Alan Dillon and Austin O'Malley have stood out in the forward line and the half-back line is a joy for fans of the running game, with the return of Ciarán McDonald, David Clarke, Conor and Trevor Mortimer and David Brady another welcome boost.
Across the border in Galway, though, developments are at least as exciting. The Connacht final promises so much that we're bracing ourselves for disappointment.
Roscommon
Manager: John Maughan (first year).
Titles: Connacht 19 (2001), All-Ireland 2 (1944).
Last year: Beaten Connacht Semi-final by Mayo 0-11 to 1-16; beaten Qualifier Round Two by Louth, 0-11 to 0-10.
NFL position: Third in Division Two A.
You couldn't help but flinch when news broke that John Maughan was moving his operation into Roscommon. It was like watching somebody eat a worm on I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. The team are going to the Catskills for a week's camp after they play New York, but left behind in brat camp are half a generation's worth of stars whose talent has seeped away through indiscipline.
Apart from the battalion of players left off by Maughan before the league, Derek Connellan, Brian Higgins and John Whyte recently moved to side-stage. Roscommon look set for further time in the wilderness.
Sligo
Manager: Tommy Breheny (first year).
Titles: Connacht 2 (1975), All-Ireland 0.
Last year: Beaten Connacht Round One by Leitrim 0-9 to 1-11; beaten All-Ireland Qualifier Round Four by Cork, 3-13 to 0-11.
NFL position: Fifth in Division Two B.
Nightmarish start to the year has given way to some improvement.
Tommy Breheny will at least be dealt a full deck with Mark Breheny and Paul McGovern the last remaining injuries to clear up. Difficult task ahead. Galway block the championship route and it will be hard to go the distance in the qualifiers again.
New York
Manager: Louis Holland (first year).
Titles: Connacht 0, All-Ireland 0.
Last year: Beaten Connacht Quarter-final by Galway, 3-14 to 0-6.
NFL position: Did not contest.
There's a genuine mystery surrounding the sustainability of this arrangement. None of the other counties are keen on the trip to New York at a delicate stage of the championship.
Unlike their hurlers the exiles have never been remotely competitive and the inability to compete in the qualifiers removes any possibility of gaining experience even were the personnel not shifting and changing every year.
