The defending Budweiser Superleague champions Neptune begin their season a week later than scheduled with a visit to Ailesbury Road in Dublin tomorrow where their significantly reshuffled line-up will face UCD Marian. Neptune's close season has seen a flurry of behind-the-scenes activity following the decision of their highly successful and popular coach, Tom Wilkinson, to hand the baton of responsibility for the senior team on to another former international, Mark Scannell.
The "in house" system that Neptune have operated of grooming players for the senior coaching position in the club has worked well over the years. Wilkinson and Jim Nugent both made the transition seamlessly, and Scannell, a member of last year's winning squad, now gets his chance after a successful spell coaching underage teams in the club.
Scannell's first task has been the acquisition of suitable Americans and, if reports from within the club are accurate, he has settled on two promising rookies, Chris Ward and Harold Joiner.
Ward is a 6 ft 8 in centre from Florida, who played in the highly competitive Spanish league last season, while Joiner, is a quick, 6 ft 5 in shooting forward out of Kentucky Wesleyan College.
Two other teams that have high aspirations this season, Star of the Sea and St Vincent's, meet in the most attractive looking game of the weekend at the Maysfield Centre in Belfast on Sunday.
St Vincent's looked very impressive in the first half against Dungannon last week with the return of Karl Donnelly and the arrival of Irish-American Dave Conlon offsetting the absence of Mark Keenan and Stephen McGuirk through injuries which again keep them out of the team this Sunday.
In another interesting game, the 1996 champions, Tralee, who nearly pulled out of the league a fortnight ago, are at home to Ballina tomorrow. The Kerry club have again secured the services of last year's American, Roscoe Patterson, who joins up with rookie John L'Hereux from Massachusetts and Irish American Matt Fuchs, whose grandparents hail from Tralee. John Teahan is also definitely back in the squad.
In the ESB women's league, the first major clash of the season sees the reigning three-in-a row champions Wildcats entertain the cup holders Naomh Mhuire tomorrow evening in a game that could well have a significant bearing on the eventual destination of the title.
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