National Football League:February, the first weekend of the NFL, throws up some surprising results. By the end of the season many of these have been forgotten, but with so much at stake this year points won even this early could well be of major significance in determining the look of the summer's championships and the 2008 League.

On Sunday the scorelines which grabbed most attention came in Division Two B and Two A, respectively at Dr Walsh Park in Waterford and Cloone, Co Leitrim, where the home sides won against hotly favoured opponents who may pay dearly for the defeats in what promises to be the most competitive League for years.

Given that Leitrim were a top-four team in last year's Division Two A, and notwithstanding their unexpected eclipse of Leinster finalists Offaly, it is the Waterford result that takes pride of place.

For a long time Waterford football has been in the public mind the natural heir to Kilkenny, whose departure from the NFL left their neighbours propping up the table and the consensus choice as the worst football county in Ireland.

Sunday's defeat of Wexford, a side only relegated from the top flight last spring and finalists in 2005, was a stunning achievement, and all the more impressive for confirming that something has been stirring in Waterford football for a while.

This decade has seen the under-21s beat Kerry twice and win Munster in 2003, two clubs, Stradbally and The Nire, reach the provincial club final and fall narrowly short, and, on the inter-county front, two junior All-Irelands and at senior level there has been improvement.

Last season's NFL wins over Sligo and, sensationally on the last day, against a Cavan side that was poised for promotion, were the forerunners of a gutsy championship display in Killarney where they were unlucky to be beaten by eight points.

Manager John Kiely, in his third season, says the team had been prepared with the League campaign in mind. "We did a lot of physical work before Christmas and a lot of ball work since. Pat Spillane is right: it's all about kicking the ball. You have to be fit, but there's a bit of skill involved as well."

There is a good reason for putting priority on the NFL this year - and that is the fate of the bottom four teams in Divisions Two A and Two B come April. They will be in next year's Division Four and unable to play in the All-Ireland qualifiers unless they reach a provincial final.

"That would be a disaster for these guys after what they've done over the past year," says Kiely. "There are some serious footballers in Waterford despite the media image of the county."

One of the chief perceptions of football in the county is that it plays second fiddle to hurling. Each year the football manager has to come to terms with the departure of an important footballer to try his hand at the big show.

Only this season Shane Walsh, one of the best footballers in the county or anywhere else, decided to do the same. In mitigation, Kiely points out that Wayne Hennessy and Ger Power, who both made their mark in Sunday's half-forward line, have made the return journey.

"When everyone is fit we'll have 24 or 25 serious players on the panel," he says.

Kiely's Leitrim counterpart, Dessie Dolan, has been hospitalised for three weeks with pneumonia. At the end of his team's hard-fought win over promotion-favourites Offaly, the players gathered in a circle on the pitch in Cloone and took a phone call from their delighted manager.

"The lads did it for Dessie," says selector Gerry McLoughlin. "We have to get into the top four - otherwise it's straight into the Tommy Murphy Cup as soon as we're beaten in championship. It's just the incentive we need."

Leitrim have made a mark in championship in the past two years, running All-Ireland finalists Mayo to a point and reaching the Murphy Cup final last August.

McLoughlin says the current panel is both young and competitive.

"We played two different teams in a recent challenge against Fermanagh and the performance of all 30 was very encouraging. Last year and the year before you could probably pick our championship team at the start of the year, but there's real competition for places now. We had four new players in for the Offaly as well as Fintan McBrien, who has played before but not for a while.

"This win takes the pressure off when we're going to Páidí (Ó Sé) and Clare."