IT is said that happy hosts make for sad guests, in which case Neptune and Commercial are set to steal the party having managed to wrest their international oarsman and scullers from Olympic training for a weekend at Islandbridge.

Organising Saturday's regatta, Neptune have trumped the coxed four field by surreptitiously packing their `C' boat with a sizeable chunk of the lightweight squad that travels to Sweden on Monday.

Tony O'Connor, Neville Maxwell and, at stroke, Dereck Holland, are all in the frame for an as yet unsecured Irish coxless four Olympic entry, while two man for the day, Brendan Dolan, is one of six possibles for the double scull that qualified for Atlanta last year.

Commercial hold their aces back for their regatta on Sunday, and their two sweep fours will be racing as much against themselves as anyone else. International scullers Mark Kelly, Neal Byrne, Emmet O'Brien and eight allowing Niall O'Toole are out to redress the balance after coming second to the Tribesman head winning four of Dennis Crowley, Sean Heaney, Don McGuinness and older brother Fran O'Toole at last year's encounter.

With a number of eights crews doubling up in the fours events, the Neptune `C' boat and the Commercial fours are likely to come across some useful competition from Trinity, Tribesmen and their own heavyweight clubmates.

The Neptune open or, under the new UK style classification rules, Senior 1 eight surprised many a fortnight ago by finishing ninth in the London Head against a world class field. After a lacklustre winter, the boat may be showing signs of a spring revival, only missing out on the overseas title by four seconds to the Berliner club.

There is one change to that boat, with Jim Cassidy coming in on Saturday at number four after spending the head season in sculls. According to coach Peter Buckley, London was no blip: "The aim all along has been to perform in the summer and we didn't adjust our training to take account of what would be happening in the heads.

"In Dublin, we were very anxious to get at Trinity from the start, but there was a bit more confidence and control the other week and I would think we will be improving as the season goes along," he said.

On that assessment, the eight's first round opposition will be short on the water. In the UCD boathouse, last Saturday's 4 1/2 length colours defeat is now referred to as "ground zero"; Mike Geraghty has gone back to the drawing board with a six week, back to basics programme of small boat work and "anger instillment".

Barring an upset or disqualification for lateness, the still undefeated Trinity S1 eight should make Saturday's Pimms sponsored final on the favoured north station, with Neptune alongside. Out of their 23 crews entered in the first round, Neptune have contrived to draw all but five on the south starting position which, if the flow is strong, can immediately put a boat half a length down around the Longmeadow Park bend.

Even allowing for dead calm conditions, the Trinity women's S1 eight will have to work to keep the margin much below that by the first strait. In re runs of last week's Corcorcan colours cup, UCDL have reinforced their winning boat with the return of UCDL captain, Oonagh Clarke, in the four seat and Audrey Thelan in Bow for Saturday and as stroke in the Commercial regatta eight.

Seeded as favourites, UCDL should meet Neptune women, who have a bye into the next round on Saturday but who during the week looked as if technique and balance might abandon them at race rates. Doubling up in the fours, the two clubs meet again, with a powerful Galway crew drawn against Trinity.

Elsewhere, the junior races are without Portora and St Joseph's this weekend, which leaves the door open to the four and eights, while in the sculls a large entry, including colleges from the north, is headed by Neptune, Commercial and St Michael's.

UCG's Sereth Colbert moves up from his winter intermediate status to Senior l single sculling at the Commercial regatta, and clubs from England, Scotland and the Netherlands have also entered crews on both days of competition. Agecroft, from Manchester, will be hoping to repeat their performance in the London Head where they finished in the top 20.