Hurlers open Div 2A v Kildare

Meath hurling manager Nick Fitzgerald will be facing a hectic start to 2018 with the Walsh Cup set for early January and the first round of NHL Div 2A likely to see January action.

Fitzgerald was ratified to replace Martin Ennis at the September meetin of Meath Co Board and he will have Kilkenny duo Maertin Comerford and Michael Kavanagh as his selectors.

The management team will have plenty of challenges to prepare for as the build up to the NHL Div 2A and the new-look hurling championships begin to take shape.

LEAGUE

The Royal County hurlers will face Kildare in the first round at Newbridge and a week late will face a trip to Rusilip to tackle London.

Mid-February is the likely date for Meath's first home game and that will be against Westmeath followed by a long trip to Kerry and then a fifth round tie against Carlow in March.
First round - Kildare v Meath; Carlow v Westmeath; London v Kerry.
Second round - London v Meath; Kerry v Carlow; Westmeath v Kildare.
Third round - Meath v Westmeath; Kildare v Kerry; London v Carlow.
Fourth round - Kerry v Meath; London v Westmeath; Carlow v Kildare.
Fifth round - Meath v Carlow; London v Kildare; Westmeath v Kerry.
CHAMPIONSHIP

The Royal County can look forward to the 2018 Tier 2 Championship - Meath, Laois, Kerry, Westmeath, Antrim, Carlow.
The Tier 2 championship finalists will participate in preliminary All-Ireland quarter-finals against the third-placed teams from Munster and Leinster with the Tier 2 teams having home advantage.
The Liam Mac Carthy Cup will be reduced to 10 teams with the five-team Munster and Leinster championships played on a round-robin basis.
There will also be promotion and relegation between the Tier 2 Championship and the Liam Mac Carthy Cup.