With an unprecedented pairing of Glenanne and Corinthians in the Stephen Doyle Trophy decider at Hallowe'en, there are increasing signs of an upsurge of standards across the board in Leinster hockey circles.

Compared to the dominance of two or three teams for many seasons, as many as six sides look capable of disputing the top three berths in the league which now carry a passage into the all-Ireland quarter-finals.

Ultimately, the creme de la creme - say, Pembroke Wanderers and Avoca again, possibly joined by Three Rock Rovers - may well rise to the top. Yet the O-1 and 1-1 results (plus shoot-out advances) achieved by both Corinthians and Glenanne against Pembroke and Avoca in the last week confirm that there will be considerable shuffling of top-of-the-table positions before Christmas.

Tomorrow, Avoca may drop down a few notches, for they must face Pembroke at Serpentine Avenue with diminished resources as Galahad Goulet remains sidelined by a cracked rib and Trevor Dagg may also be restrained due to injury, while Stephen Mitchell can only come home on occasional weekends from Wales. So the central defence could be vulnerable to the swift reactions of Simon Kershaw and Max Lanos.

Three Rock Rovers, too, can expect a full assault from Glenanne at Grange Road, where Stephen Butler notched a rich crop of setpiece goals last season but Rovers again look like scoring readily themselves, especially if Gordon Elliott has shaken off an injury.

Railway Union, with their new spearhead from the South African Academy of Sport, Graham Berry, seem geared to outpunch Monsktown at Rathdown and continue sharing top spot with Pembroke.

Corinthians should also stay in the leading bunch, for YMCA are not yet ready to pick up points, particularly at Whitechurch Park and even more so if Colin Stewart has recovered from flu.

Much can be gained on the umpiring front in Dublin on October 2nd-4th, when Ray O'Connor, along with fellow Olympic and World Cup partners Peter von Reth (Netherlands) and David Ellars (Denmark), will be involved in a comprehensive seminar for allcomers at the Montrose Hotel.