Offaly to face the Dubs in O'Byrne Cup
The All-Ireland champions likely to field reserves
The Offaly footballers will face Dublin and Wexford in the O'Byrne Cup, which throws in at the end of December.
Offaly have been drawn in Group 1 alongside the All-Ireland champions, who last year virtually side-stepped the pre-season competition by fielding a team of reserves, and yet still emerged victorious.
The young Blues won the competition with a final day win over Louth on a 2-16 to 1-10 scoreline.
Offaly struggled in last year's O'Byrne Cup, a competition often used by managers to blood young talent. The Faithful hammered Carlow IT in their first game, but then shipped fairly big defeats to Longford and Kildare as they bowed out early.
The 2018 O'Byrne Cup starts on Saturday, 30 December with Offaly facing Wexford.
2018 O'Byrne Cup draw:
Group 1
Dublin
Offaly
Wexford
Group 2
Kildare
Louth
Longford
Group 3
Meath
Carlow
Wicklow
Group 4
Westmeath
Laois