Robin Hood may have won six straight Commercial A titles but their rivals are confidently predicting their downfall this time around.

Last season Tuff Dogs ran them close only to implode in the final games and hand Hood the title.

Hood veteran Donny Smyth has retired from first-team duties to take over from newly appointed assistant national coach Paul Scope as manager but is aiming for nothing less than first place ? even though he realises he has a fight on his hands with an ageing squad.

There have been some summer moves ahead of this Saturday?s opening games.

?The Hood have picked up Dale Brangman, a good utility player from Paget,? said the affable Irishman. ?And I also have a couple of potential late signings who won?t feature until January.

?The other positive is I expect to have Colin Scaife and Paul McCluskey available for the whole season unlike last year where we only had them for parts of the season.

?It looks like we are losing Tillman Darrell for at least half the season as he moves overseas. I also have one other player considering a move to a Premier club.?

He expects Hood?s main challenge to come from Tuff Dogs and Lobster Pot, just as it was last year in a campaign which went right to the wire.

?We?re aiming to continue our winning ways, our squad is ageing with a lack of any new young signings but our guys have the experience and ability to mount a serious defence to our title,? said Smyth.

Lobster Pot had their best finish for years with second place last year under manager Troy Berkeley.

They have picked up Island newcomer Mike Johnson who will partner the ever-dangerous Dave Allison up front and striker Joe Carola from Tuff Dogs while ?keeper Brian Ward is out for two months due to shoulder surgery.

Ward said: ?Robin Hood will not win the league for a seventh straight year! Newly promoted Valley are the team to watch out for.?

Forward Tommy Gribbin has left Pot to manage his old club, BAA Wanders, although he is not eligible to play until January.

He too senses time is up for the Hood, even though he concedes his club are unlikely to be the beneficiary.

?Robin Hood?s reign will come to an end,? said Gribbin. ?It will either be Lobster Pot or Tuff Dogs who win it.?

After adding Canadians Shane and Ryan McKay to his squad, Gribbin plans to make opponents work hard for any points they get from BAA.

MR Onions manager Stevie Smith also believes it could be Pot?s year, while Dogs will also be in the hunt. ?The Pot may prove stronger this year as last season there were many new faces who have likely settled in better now it?s the second season together,? he said.

Tuff Dogs have a new manager in Manny Faria who replaces Miguel Da Ponte.

?I will make a bold prediction, this year could be the year the Hood don?t win the title,? said Faria.

?I am not saying it will be us but there are one or two teams that could definitely take over the top spot.?

He said there were six teams in the running and teams with quality throughout the league including North Village Rams and PHC who were capable of putting out very good sides while lacking depth to mount a consistent challenge.

Dogs have lost Dennis Musson jr. to Dandy Town but have have picked up some players from the senior divisions.

Several players spoke to identified top division newcomers Valley as the dark horses of the league.

They galloped to the B Division championship last season by winning every game until the end of January.

Former Dogs coach Miguel Da Ponte said: ?They have a lot of young players who got fed up playing for First and Premier League sides and who have good skills. But can they play as a team remains the question??

Onions struggled last season and could be relegation candidates with numerous departures on the horizon including captain Rob Horne and defender Paul Coates. Other first teamers are preferring to concentrate on training for the New York Marathon or are out injured, including first choice keeper Chris Hewson. Smith hopes the new intake of accountants at KPMG and PWC will contain some handy players. ?Otherwise we are in trouble,? he said.

Newcomers Devonshire Rec Lions could also find the top league tough going.

The division has one extra team this year with the belated promotion of Somerset Bridge, who have added ?Peskies? to their name. They came up, alongside Valley and Devonshire Rec Lions, to make room for three new teams in Division B ? Dandy Town Roots, Boulevard and Hamilton Parish Workmen?s Club.

The league will revert to the two-up, two down format this year but the extra team in the A Division will mean a bye every week for one of the teams.

Big things are expected of the B Division newcomers.

Lee Correia, of Dockyard Falcons, said: ?Realistically it looks like Dandy Town and Boulevard will be the front runners for promotion.?

He said his own team were largely unchanged for the upcoming season and he predicted another top four finish, ahead of West End rivals Somerset Extros who struggled for numbers last year.

St. George?s All Stars and Devonshire All Stars return to familiar territory after a bruising single season in the higher league.

St. George?s picked up form towards the end of the season and should be among the frontrunners.