Leave aside the renewed sparkle in the hurling, the fact they would have beaten All Ireland champions Cork but for some poor refereeing decisions and ignore last weekend's victory over Waterford. What will please most is the manner in which Offaly's new blood has presented itself this league. In a county renowned for its small pick of hurlers, the fact that two teenagers have played important roles in the five games to date is cause enough to declare the league campaign a triumph.

The way Offaly departed the championship last year wouldn't have given much hope going into the start of this year but strong performances from Joe Bergin and Paul Cleary have warmed the hearts of many. Even though he is just 19 years old, Cleary has added strength and durability to the Offaly full-back line while on the opposite end of the field, Bergin, still 18, has proved a very useful foil to Brian Carroll. From the Seir Kieran's club, he has impressed on the scoreboard as well, notching up 4-9 with a game-turning goal against Waterford to his credit.

Former All Star Joe Dooley has watched Bergin progress through the ranks and though they were on different arcs of their playing career, both have hurled together for Seir Kieran's. "I know Joe quite well, his own house is less than 200 yards from my home, " Dooley says.

"Underage you could see he had promise and skill and he's matured into a strong hurler. He has the qualities a great hurler needs and he has passion for the game. He's had a hurley in his hand all his life."

A nephew of Jim and John Troy, Bergin plundered 2-3 last Sunday against a strong Waterford side and, in the process, helped Offaly to an eight-point victory that made others stand up and take notice. It's their most impressive result in some time. Both Cleary and Bergin have started all of Offaly's league games to date and last weekend's clash was a progression of sorts in the experience category.

But while their youthful influence will have helped lift the mist that hung over Offaly hurling all winter, the biggest test comes this afternoon against neighbours Tipperary. They'll have been but nippers when Babs Keating was in charge of their county, but they'll have heard the stories and the spice of today's clash won't be lost on them.

Keating's outburst following Tipperary's eight-point loss to Galway will have surely have stoked some memories of the manager's time in Offaly. That current Offaly boss John McIntyre is also a Tipp man simply adds to a game that will provide a decent marker of Offaly's worth.

"The days of the parochial rivalry might be dying off a bit but you'll always have to up your game against Tipp, " Dooley says. "It'll be an important day for the younger fellas and so far they've done well. The one thing about having a small pool of hurlers is that young talent gets an opportunity on the county panel. A young fella showing promise will get a chance. Sometimes that hasn't worked but it has this year and that's been the real success to date."

Again, Dooley refers to morale in Offaly since last summer and how that has affected the exuberance of youth. "The mood would have been low in Offaly over the past two or three years and maybe young lads weren't aiming for the county panel like they were before. But with this run in the league you'd be hopeful that more youngsters will be trying to break into the inter-county set up."

The early months of 2006 were about mending confidence and restoring some pride to Offaly hurling. That's been achieved to an extent and another victory today would help even more. "At the start of the year some people would have looked at our league as a fight to keep our Division One status and maybe put in some decent performances along the way, " Dooley admits. "I don't think anyone would have expected us to make it this far. Then again Offaly have always been able to stand up when the backs are to the wall, when it mattered. The championship was demoralising but we're picking ourselves up again."

A difficult time, perhaps, to come into an Offaly side but the weight of last summer was never on the shoulders of Joe Bergin and Paul Cleary.

This weekend last year the duo were lining out for their school, St Brendan's of Birr, in an All Ireland Colleges semifinal against St Flannan's. It's been a short road to a league quarter final clash with Tipperary but their journey, really, is only beginning.