And that is at odds with years gone by.

Before you think to yourselves: ‘Sure don’t these fellas roll out this line every year’, bear in mind this is truly never the thought-process in this neck of the woods.

But here goes… the race for the Liam MacCarthy Cup this year will be the most competitive in the lifetime of this writer. There, I said it. And you can scoff at the simplicity of the sentence if you wish. Yet, it is the absolute truth.

I genuinely cannot remember a season whereby there is no definitive decision made as to who is viewed as the most likely All-Ireland champions.

The plan today was to put forward a case for one, possibly two teams that are foreseen as potential August kings.

However, even generating a shortlist was a waste of time. It ended up being a longlist. A very long list.

Those of a rose-tinted glasses disposition will always view the past as being superior to the present.

Nevertheless, the present is gifting us with talents and conundrums we have never encountered previously.

Galway, as defending champions, and Tipp are first and second favourites respectively to claim the All-Ireland title.

But then you could honestly argue the list of positives while making cases for Waterford, Cork, Kilkenny, Clare, Limerick and Wexford are just as compelling as they are for the Tribesmen and the Premier.

Dublin, for the record, have been a gross disappointment thus far however, it is clear Pat Gilroy’s project is of a long-term nature of course, and one that we are unlikely to see any true progress with until next season perhaps.

Initially, following Gilroy’s appointment, it was thought the Metropolitans could make an impact of sorts this year. Now, Gilroy and co could be keeping their powder bone dry until the summer. Yet, it is obvious already they are simply too far behind the posse to stake a claim for major honours in 2018.

So that leaves us with the eight aforementioned counties, headed by Galway and Tipp.

Having been present at a number of the league matches so far and having watched the majority of the rest on TV, it can honestly be said Nostradamus would do well to create a pecking order from those eight teams.

Some people, particularly those in the west, will argue Micheál Donoghue’s side can push on following their breakthrough All-Ireland success last year.

However, ridding themselves of the noose that was around their necks for so many years in 2017 will not be enough for Galway to automatically farm the landscape now.

Just because the Tribesmen have broken free of their tormenting past does not mean Liam MacCarthy will become a regular visitor to their county from here on.

Michael Ryan’s competitors have, for the last few seasons, been at the top of previous shortlists. Still, Tipp nearly always seem to manage to take their challenge so far and then leave the stage without the big prize too often for the qualities they possess.

With Kilkenny having come back to the pack and the pack pushing forward to meet them halfway, the Premier would have been the obvious candidates to capitalise after the Cats’ gearstick went into reverse.

Not so, especially since Galway have proved an upstart Tipp find difficult to burn off.

However, in this campaign Tipp have a trump card in the form of Jason Forde.

As has been written here in the last two years, Forde has much more to offer the Premier than the game-time he was afforded would suggest up until the present. Yet, he was man of the match against Wexford last Saturday and is scoring for fun. Ryan would be ill-advised to leave him on the bench during the championship. Though, in saying that, we are repeating ourselves for the third season running.

There are two other factors that are worthy of monitoring as the year continues, however.

The first is the probable impact Clare’s midfield axis of Colm Galvin and Tony Kelly will have on the various competitions.

That particular duo could set themselves apart from other midfield pairings as the most devastating combination in the land.

If so, the Banner will be in the mix at the business end of the championship.

Everybody appreciates what both players are capable of. And then Galvin is still marginally underestimated by some. The reality is he is one of the very best technical midfielders in the code.

The Galvin-Kelly axis will be at least a match for any other pairing they encounter, and, for the most part, be viewed as the more likely of any duo to dominate in a game this term.

The other intriguing element of the season is the return of Tom Devine to Waterford.

This may seem odd given he was not an automatic starter last year, but, and this was said at the time, I felt the Déise’s percentage chance of winning the All-Ireland in 2017 dropped considerably when he departed the panel.

Derek McGrath is not blessed with players whose default setting is to create and execute goalscoring opportunities first. Devine is exactly the type of player Waterford require as they seek to land the ultimate prize.

He is menacing, inventive and could be the missing piece of the jigsaw, provided he is utilised effectively.

Regardless of all the above, predicting accurately which team will be All-Ireland champions in 2018 is currently nigh-on impossible.