The National League is the best competition in the GAA in terms of competitiveness, and quality, but it is the wort in terms of its structure.
Due to the fact that the league finals are scheduled less than a week before the championship begins, managers and teams do not want to reach the final two of the competition.
Last year Derry won Division One, and suffered a few days later against Donegal, and the exact same thing happened the year before when Mayo won it, and were then knocked out of Connacht by Roscommon less than a week later.
This means that teams put on the handbrake, experiment with their starting teams, and try different things, with priorities focused elsewhere, and it undoubtedly has skewed the results of the league table.
Kerry and Mayo finished in the top two this season, but they were both in danger of relegation on the very last day as well, and had not been the most consistent teams in the competition.
So here is how the league table would probably have looked if teams were really incentivised to get to the league final.
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1. Donegal
Really it is a toss-up between Donegal and Galway for the top spot, but Jim McGuinness' side were given the nod because they won the head-to-head.
Throughout the entire league they have been consistently brilliant, adapting to the new rules, bleeding lots of new players, and managing their stars carefully.
Despite losing their last two games, the reality is if those games were do or die, then they would have approached them very differently and different results would have been likely.
2. Galway
For the last few years Galway have always struggled in the league due to a crazy number of injuries, but getting through those periods have made them stronger.
Now The Tribesmen have a lot of depth in their squad, and are able to shuffle ready-made players in and out of the team, and despite not having superstars like Damien Comer for most of the league, they still managed to take apart most of their opponents.
Shane Walsh has been a revelation at number 11, floating around the new 40m arc, and they look primed and ready to really attack this championship.
3. Kerry
Kerry have had a strange league in the sense that they were poor at home, but pulled off some seriously impressive wins away, including against Tyrone and Derry up in Ulster.
They really should have beat Dublin in Killareny as well who pulled off an incredible comeback, but with David Clifford back on form, and others returning from injury, they are in a very healthy place.
The new rules have brought back the old Kerry in terms of their attacking, kicking style, and it makes them a dangerous animal going into the championship.
4. Dublin
Dublin have been a little like Armagh this season when you look at their home form compared to their away form, it's night and day.
At home they have been so impressive, but look like a shadow of themselves outside of Croke Park apart from that incredible comeback in Kerry.
The good news for Dublin is that their championship games, including the neutral ones in the quarter final stages onwards, will be at Croke Park, so they won't be worrying too much.
5. Mayo
This might seem harsh considering that they are actually in the league final, but Mayo struggled very badly at the start of the campaign, and improved the longer it went on.
they fully deserve to avoid relegation, and have really got their act together, but with teams taking their foot off the pedal towards the end, just as they found their form, it means that it is hard to tell exactly where they are at.
Kevin McStay's side will be delighted with how things turned out though, and it is much better to finish the league strong than start it strong and fade away, so they will be looking to carry this momentum into the provincials.
6. Armagh
Armagh have had some unbelievable performances at The Athletic Grounds this season, where they have made some formidable opponents look rather ordinary.
However, outside of the county, they have been inconsistent, and even at home, they threw away a big lead to let Mayo back into the game and steal a draw - but there have been more positives than negatives for the Orchard county during this campaign.
Despite dealing with several injuries and absences, they have been able to reach into the depths of their squad, and give others some much needed game time which puts them in a very good place ahead of the Ulster championship.
7. Tyrone
Like Mayo, Tyrone found their form later in the campaign, but the damage was probably already done in the early rounds, so their league position was unlikely to change.
However, the mood in the county is good, as they have one draw and two wins in their last three games as they prepare to face Cavan in Ulster, and a win there would see them get three wins on the bounce for the first time since 2021 when they were crowned All-Ireland champions.
8. Derry
Unfortunately, Derry struggled throughout the league campaign, but the single point to their name doesn't tell the full story.
They really should have beaten Kerry at Celtic Park when they were so far ahead late on, and against Donegal, they looked sure to get the win, only for it to be snatched away from them.
In the end, Derry were playing catch up from the start, with so many long term injuries they had to blood a lot of new players, and Paddy Tally's late appointment coupled with the introduction of the new rules and scrapping of the pre-season cups, meant that they were just chasing themselves from the off.
