Counties must plan without club stars

Limerick’s John Kiely and Cork’s Ronan McCarthy are among those inter-county managers who may not be able to field players from their senior county championship-winning clubs in this year’s Allianz Leagues.

Kiely named 10 Na Piarsaigh hurlers in his provisional 2018 panel — Shane Dowling, Alan Dempsey, David Dempsey, Ronan Lynch, Mike Casey, Peter Casey, William O’Donoghue, Thomas Grimes, Conor Boylan, and Kevin Downes — while McCarthy is sure to consider a number of Nemo Rangers players, including outgoing captain Paul Kerrigan, Luke Connolly, Barry O’Driscoll, and Stephen Cronin.

The condensed league schedule this year means the hurling league proper concludes on March 4 — 13 days before the All-Ireland senior club hurling final. The club football decider on the same day is only seven days short of the final round of the league.