The top three sides in the Leinster Senior League standings, Pembroke Wanderers, Corinthians and Glenanne, will be expected to tighten their grip tomorrow on places in the all-Ireland play-offs.

Pembroke, having won their home game against Three Rock Rovers 6-0, may not have such a wide margin to spare in the return fixture at Grange Road. But with Gordon Elliott recovering from a spasm sustained in last weekend's Irish panel session, Simon Filgas can field a full-strength team wanting to cut loose again. Filgas retains a cautionary note, however: "Yes, we won the first half 5-0 in that early season match but it was only 1-0 in the second period. I'm sure Alan Bothwell will be determined to yield no more than that."

Virile Corinthians will probably concede a goal or two to Trinity at Whitechurch Park but they are capable of scoring at least five themselves, as was the case in their encounter with the students at Santry earlier in the campaign. In contrast, Glenanne, who remarkably lost 3-0 at home to Avoca in their first meeting, will not get their confidence going at Rathdown tomorrow until they achieve a lead against Galahad Goulet's spirited brigade. It may well come through Stephen Butler and Graham Shaw, the Tallaght club's two sole representatives in the national training panel.

Monkstown, away to Aer Lingus after a 1-1 draw in October, could find it difficult again to take full points. They have lost Warren Gilmore, who has gone back to Bullawayo, and it will be of concern later in the month that several leading figures may not be back in time from a skiiing trip for the Irish Senior Cup tie against the same opposition.

YMCA, though winning 5-1 away, will probably not prevail as handsomely in their return game against Railway Union as they are now missing Steve McNeill. The second round of the Irish Junior Cup this weekend will be stretching resources to the full. Three Rock II, away to Omagh, and Pembroke II, at home to NICS II, remain among the favourites as well as Lisnagarvey II, assuming they see off the challenge of Cork C of I II.

Sadly, as the year ended, Leinster hockey lost a number of grass-roots figures, the deaths occurring of Bob Watchorn, one of Pembroke's most eminent and senior supporters, ever-willing and unassumimg Grade One umpire Gerry Foley, and Irish Junior Cup (1965) medallist Henry Kennedy of Avoca, a multi-talented contemporary of the equally cultured and gregarious Tommy Ballagh, who died in November.