Ballina hope to have their new American signing, Joseph McLean in the country by lunchtime today and the club are confident that the paperwork will be completed in time for him to line out against Budweiser Superleague Champions Neptune tomorrow night.

McLean comes in as a direct replacement for Jason Bloom, who was a big disappointment to the Mayo club, scoring just three points in their two league outings so far, which both ended in defeats.

Should Ballina make it three defeats out of three, their primary objective of a good cup run might well be undermined by the gloomy prospect of fighting another dour relegation battle - a fate that befell them in early 1996.

Neptune, who began their campaign with a shock defeat to UCD Marian last week, also cannot afford to let the strong-looking teams like Delta and Star of the Sea gain an immediate four-point advantage. Coach Mark Scannell feels that their late start to the season was a factor in their loss. "Between the St Vincent's tournament and our late start, the squad changed considerably," he pointed out, suggesting that the players were not familiar with each other's play on court in the Marian match.

"But at the same time I've got to give credit to Marian, who played well against us and I think they will surprise many this season," he said.

The Dublin derby tonight at the National Arena in Tallaght will provide Matt Boyle's Marian with an opportunity to prove that their win over Neptune was no fluke. Their opponents, Delta, the cup holders, look to be serious title contenders with a greater depth of talent than last season, following the acquisition of American Paul Hodges, Spanish guard Kike Anare and Irish international Damien Sealy.

The only other team with a 100 per cent record, Star of the Sea, should win for the third time at home to St Paul's, Killarney on Sunday in Belfast. The Kerry team have the worst record in the Superleague so far with no wins and a points deficit of 32.

In the other two games, title hopefuls St Vincent's make the journey south to play 1996 champions Tralee while Dungannon are home to Killester.

For the second week in a row, the women's ESB Superleague features a game that should have a major bearing on the outcome of campaign as the 1996 cup winners Meteors are at home to Wildcats in Sandyford tomorrow.

After their 72-64 win over current cup holders Naomh Mhuire last week, Wildcats will be unbackable title favourites if they win. Meteors are a vastly changed squad this season with the loss of Irish captain Karen Hennessy a particular blow. In addition, Orla Callen has retired and Geraldine O'Flynn and Sinead Harvey are studying abroad. Only Angie McNally, Karen Staunton and Siobhan Byrne remain from the cup-winning squad of two years ago.

Meteors coach Joe Kavanagh is, however, relishing the prospect of team rebuilding, and with two convincing wins from their two outings so far, he may have a team that could trouble the three-in-a-row champions from Waterford.

"I'm not expecting too much from my young players but they have been brilliant so far," said Kavanagh.