HOCKEY/Leinster Senior League: Let's hope this is not the shape of things to come in Leinster. Three Rock Rovers bang in 10 goals against hapless Railway Union and Pembroke Wanderers hit seven against Monkstown. Unless you are on one of the winning sides, they are not the sort of margins you wish to see on the first day of the Leinster Senior League 2006.
That two of the leading sides have declared their intent early on is unsurprising. Corinthians and Glenanne, two the other clubs aiming to be in the top-table mix at the end of the season, also registered opening victories.
So little has changed over the summer, the goal sprees of Rovers and Pembroke accurate indicators of their strengths.
Peter Blakeney's first hat-trick of the season will encourage Rovers, who in recent years have not won as much as they might have. Perhaps this is their year to show the consistency and focus to last a long campaign.
Mitch Darling, another player of promise, also got out of the blocks quickly with two goals.
Unless Railway gather themselves it could be another year of struggle for them at the bottom, as has been the pattern over recent years with teams like Trinity, UCD, Bray, Railway and Avoca, who have not been able to generate the momentum to mix it with the stronger teams but are strong in division two.
Pembroke's seven goals against Monkstown will also ask questions about the shape of the unfolding season for the south Dublin side.
Craig Fulton and Alan Sothern hit two each, with Irish internationals Gordon Elliott and Justin Sherriff and the Scottish international Paddy Conlon hitting one apiece.
Corinthians and Glenanne also got off the mark with fairly predictable wins, Corinthians beating Bray 3-1 at home and Glenanne scoring four but conceding three to Fingal.
The Ireland playmaker Stephen Butler began his season on a familiar note with two strikes in an opening day that produced 28 goals from four games.
Seven goals a game? It's not all bad news.
LEINSTER SENIOR LEAGUE: Division one - Three Rock Rovers 10 (P Blakeney 3, M Darling 2, P McConnell, C Huey, G Ringwood, S McDonald, E Goodman) Railway Union 0; Corinthians 3 (C Pellow, L Piccioli, D Williams) Bray 1 (J Crawford); Fingal 3 (M McGuinness 2, K Crawford) Glenanne 4 (S Butler 2, J Goulding, J Kane); Monkstown 0 Pembroke 7 (C Fulton 2, A Sothern 2, G Elliott, J Sherriff, P Conlon). Division Two - Kilkenny 1 (S Thompson) Clontarf 1 (R Abbott); Naas 2 (R Collins, M Weir) Skerries 1 (D Neary); PSPP 3 (D Ledwidge 2, R Billings) Navan 3 (F Houlihan, R Clarke, A McCulloch); Avoca 3 (F McGuinness, J Breadin, D Fanning) Weston 1 (D Maguire).
