The top four teams from 2009 receive byes to the quarter-finals.
The quarter-finalists from 2009 receive byes to the second round.
The other eight teams play in the first round.
All games are knockout matches, drawn games being replayed.
The first-round losers playoff, with one team being relegated to the intermediate championship for 2011. Teams must spend two years as a senior team before they are eligible for relegation; teams that have not done so are exempt from relegation.