A week away from the interprovincial hockey championship in Cork, leading players may well move gingerly in tomorrow's league matches. In Leinster, this could be deemed affordable as it's largely a case of the top sides meeting more modest opposition.

Pembroke Wanderers, obliged to share the lead with Three Rock Rovers, should have sufficient strength in depth to cope with Aer Lingus at Serpentine Avenue, though the newly promoted side have picked up six points.

Pembroke, for whom Morton Peterson is the latest member to have graduated to senior fare, will need to keep a close watch on Damian Ryan and Adrian Sweeney while at the same time finding plenty of movement themselves to out-manoeuvre Derry Hallinan and Ben McCabe.

Three Rock, at home to YMCA, will be expected to keep up their crisp start to the season under the guidance of Harold de Jong. YM, though, are set to become more challenging with the arrival of their German coach, Oliver Keithe, and Stewart Taylor, the captain, is back after injury.

An away win is on the cards for Avoca at Kilkenny while Monkstown may again depend on Glen Bailey to frustrate Glenanne's potentially potent strike force at Rathdown.

Corinthians, it seems, have got greater momentum going to capture the points from Railway Union at Park Avenue. The fortunes of the rival centre-forwards, South African Graham Berry, for the home side, and Australian Colin Stewart for Corinthians, adds spice to the proceedings. In Ulster, Instonians start the defence of their title in taking on Banbridge (for whom David McAnulty returns) at Olympia Leisure Centre while in Munster, Harlequins face the first real test of their capabilities of joining Cork C of I in the all-Ireland playoffs, in tackling Belvedere at Farmer's Cross.

Incidentally, there has been some argument about the new format to decide Ireland's representatives at European club level - notably that a third-placed team in Leinster or Ulster could ultimately emerge from the last-eight stage to poach that elite prize.