The Galway hurlers, under the new guidance of Micheál Donoghue, start their National Hurling League 1A campaign on Sunday at Pearse Stadium (2pm ) against Cork.
A big crowd is expected in Salthill to run the rule over the new panel and to suss out how things may look for the coming few months. Cork is always a team Galway like to beat, ensuring a competitive edge to this game.
The hurlers went down to Dublin in the semi-final of the Walsh Cup a few weeks ago, but Galway supporters will be expecting more fluidity and cohesion after an extra few weeks of training.
If Galway are to advance to the final stages of the league, which they have not done in some time, they will need to win their two home games because facing the likes of Kilkenny, Dublin and Waterford on their travels will not be easy.
Galway are 9/1 to win the league with Kilkenny, as usual the bookies favourites, priced up at 2/1 to add another league title to their bulging bag of trophies.
Most Galway hurling supporters are looking forward to the start of the NHL to draw a line under what went on in the latter end of 2015.
All Star David Burke will captain the squad with Portumna’s Joe Canning as vice-captain, and no doubt the new management team will want Burke, Canning and some of the experienced players to really drive the agenda during the next few seasons.
Reports from the camp suggest is all is going well, with everyone on the new panel putting their shoulder to the wheel to try to make 2016 a positive season at inter-county senior level for the squad.
A large crowd is expected, and the county board is asking all supporters to be respectful to the needs of local residents and only to park in designated areas.
