THE Bord Gais Energy National Football League gets underway this weekend with seven counties in action across three divisions.
Monaghan, Tyrone and Donegal are in the top flight and the Tir Chonaill girls will have their work cut out for them against defending league champions Cork.
2010 winning All-Ireland Intermediate manager Michael Naughton is back at the helm, however, Donegal have lost a number of players like Yvonne McMonagle and Niamh Hegarty, who went to Australia towards the end of last year, and they will find the going tough in Division One.
The 2011 All-Ireland senior finalists and Division One semi-finalists, Monaghan, also have a tough opener against Laois, and Gregory McGonigle's side will be keen to get one over on their Leinster opposition. Despite defeating them in the earlier rounds of the league, when they won all seven games, Laois dumped them out in the semi-finals. Monaghan come into this game buoyed by their second successive Dowd Cup title just last weekend. McGonigle used the competition to look at a lot of players, many of whom have impressed like young Ulster Player of the Year, Ciara McDermott. Alongside the players from the 2011 squad, he and Monaghan will be determined to go one step further than last year and, at the very least, reach the 2012 Division One decider.
Tyrone open their league account away to Meath and new manager Gerard Moane  will be keen to make it a winning start to his first league campaing. The Fermanagh native also used the Dowd Cup to look at potential players, particularly as he had so many players unavailable to him because they were playing with their college side, so this weekend will be the first real competitive opportunity he will have to see everyone in action together. Meath came up from Division Two last year, along with Dublin, as league runners-up and while they have home advantage, the Red Hands will be seriously targeting all the points on offer on Sunday and should be too good for the Royals.
Cavan and Fermanagh are Ulster's two representatives in a strong Division Two league that features Mayo and Galway who were relegated from the top flight last season. Add in All-Ireland senior semi-finalists Kerry and senior sides Clare and Tipperary and fellow intermediate side Waterford and Divison Two is a tough place to be this season.
Cavan begin their league campaign against all too familiar opposition in neighbours and rivals Fermanagh, with the Erne county having home advantage this time around. 
There's never really much between these two teams and with it being the first game of the season and the cobwebs still to be shook out, an tight encounter is expected.  
In Division Three, Armagh host Sligo and Down are away to Leitrim. Both these teams have regraded from senior to intermediate for the championship for 2012 and so the teams they come up against in this league will give them a good indication of where they will stand and what they will be up against when it comes to the summer. 
Armagh pulled out of the Dowd Cup because of lack of numbers, although they will now have those 'college tied' players like Sinead McCleary and Sinead McCoy back for them.
New Down manager Benji Ward also used the Dowd Cup to blood new players and he has been impressed with how they played alongside the more experienced ones like Eliza Downey and Aileen Pyers. Add into the mix those university girls who are now back like the Orla and Sinead Fegan, Clara Fitzpatric, Niamh McGown and Kate McKay, and Down with Ward on board will want to turn ladies football in the county award from its previously difficult years. Leitrim, however, will prove stiff opposition, but if Down are to become a force again like they once were, they need to be able to beat these teams.
Antrim and Derry were due to lock horns in Division Four, but it looks like the Oak Leaf county have pulled out to concentrate fully on building their county teams from an underage level, as have Kilkenny who were meant to host Carlow. 
Fixtures
Division 1 - Donegal v Cork (Ballyshannon,12.30pm), Monaghan v Laois (Tyholland, 2pm), Meath v Tyrone (Ashbourne, 2pm), Kildare v Dublin.
Division 2 - Fermanagh v Cavan (Kinawley, 2pm), Tipperary v Kerry, Clare v Waterford, Galway v Mayo.
Division 3 - Armagh v Sligo (Crossmaglen, 2pm), Leitrim v Down (Ballinamore, 2pm), Wexford v Wicklow, Roscommon v Westmeath.
Division 4 - Offaly v Limerick, Longford v Louth.