2016 Shinty Season Preview - 1 | |
02 March 2016 With the start of the 2016 shinty season almost upon us, club’s across the country look forward with optimism to the start of the new campaign.
Aberdeen University – Former Skye Camanachd player Jamie Beaton continues as the Students’ first team manager. John Sweeney has made the switch back to former club Lochaber. However former Lewis Camanachd player Scott Murray has joined the Granite City side whilst Ewen Fraser has joined from Boleskine. Aberdour – Aberdour continue to give youth a chance with large numbers attending training each week. Promising youngster Jamie Anderson has joined from Inverness after relocating to the area. Ballachulish – Ballachulish had a difficult 2015 season, finishing bottom of the Marine Harvest National Division. However they have opted to remain in shinty’s second tier meaning it will be an eight-team league once more. Scott Henderson has moved to Fort William whilst Grant MacKenzie has left for Kilmallie. The Jubilee Park side have decided not to field a second team in Marine Harvest South Division 2 this season. Ballachulish will start the season without the suspended Scott MacDonald Pat MacLean and Kenny Michie. Boleskine – It should be an exciting season for Boleskine with former Lovat player Jamie Matheson taking over as first team manager. Former Lovat team-mate Jimmy MacKenzie, who played for Boleskine during the second part of last season, will assist Matheson. Both Matheson and MacKenzie are also expected to feature on the park for the Farr based side. Calum Farquharson has also made the switch from Balgate to Farr but forward Ewen Fraser has moved to Aberdeen University. Beauly – Stephen MacLean is back in charge at Beauly after taking over from Roger Cormack. MacLean will be assisted by full back Jamie MacLennan. The side won the 2015 Balliemore Cup but a top-two finish this term, which guarantees promotion to the Marine Harvest Premiership, will be their main ambition. They will field a young side this year with Andrew Morrison, Sandy Elrick and Robbie Brindle from last year’s successful U17 side likely to feature on a regular basis. However they will have to do so without Sean Stewart who is unlikely to be available this season and Conor Cormack who has joined Kinlochshiel. Neil Brindle takes over from Stephen MacLean as second team manager. Bute – Bute make the step up into the Marine Harvest National Division after their Marine Harvest South Division 1 title success last season. Ted MacDonald remains in charge. The Islanders are well prepared after a season in the lower league could be dark horses for the promotion spots. The Bute seconds will be managed by David Kilpatrick, assisted by Bob McKechnie and they will look to bring through youngsters such as Aaron McKirdy, Andrew McLaughlin, Ethan Kell, and Iain Crawford. Caberfeidh – This will be a second season in charge for Lee Nicol. Brothers Craig Morrison and Blair Morrison will be key to the Castle Leod side’s title chances as will fellow youngsters Ewan Pilcher and Liam Symonds as the side looks to build on last season’s fourth place Marine Harvest National Division finish. Col Glen – The Glendaruel side won Marine Harvest South Division 2 last season so they make the step up to the league above. Col Glen open the season with a trip to Oban to play Oban Celtic. Dunoon – This will be a special season for Dunoon, shinty’s newest club, as they join Marine Harvest South Division 2. The side will play their home matches at the Dunoon Stadium which hosted the 2006 Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup Final when Kingussie beat Fort William 4-2. Fort William – Victor Smith and Adam Robertson start the season without 2015 Club Player of the Year Gordie MacKinnon who has retired. Scotland U21 cap Arran MacPhee, who missed the majority of last season with a knee injury, will also be sidelined at the start of this campaign after undergoing an operation on his knee. However Jack Fraser has put his injury problems behind him and he has featured pre-season. Neil Robertson and Chris Bamber take over the reins from Lachie MacDonald and Peter Wood at the Fort William second team. Scott Henderson has joined from Ballachulish. Glasgow Mid Argyll – There are changes at Glasgow Mid Argyll with John Don MacKenzie returning to Kinlochshiel. However Scotland U21 player John McNulty has signed from Glenorchy, although he carries forward a suspension from his former club, whilst Lawrence Belleni has switched from Strathspey Camanachd. Another Scotland U21 player, Finlay MacMillan, should be available on a more regular basis after spending much of last season abroad. Glengarry – Glengarry boss Ewen Cameron will have a squad along usual lines this season. They will their Marine Harvest North Division 2 campaign as one of the title favourites and they’ll be looking for another good cup run having reached the final of the Strathdearn Cup in 2015. Glenorchy – Glenorchy have opted to field just one side this season, competing in Marine Harvest South Division 1. The club introduced a second team into Marine Harvest South Division 2 in 2014 and they finished sixth in the eight team league last year. However the focus will be on the one side this term. Scotland U21 player John McNulty has left to join Glasgow Mid Argyll. Conor Sartain will continue to be their main goal threat. Glenurquhart – Co-managers Dave Menzies and Billy MacLean welcome David Smart back into the squad after a season out of the game and he adds to their striking options. John Barr will join Andrew Corrigan in flying in from their work-base in Norway for games although their availability throughout the whole season won’t be guaranteed. Ally MacKintosh had a disrupted 2015 through injury but he is not fit and will push the team on from midfield. Inveraray – There are changes at the Winterton as Inveraray start life in the Marine Harvest National Division. Ruaridh Graham takes over as first team manager from co-player / managers Graham MacPherson and Garry MacPherson with the experienced forward starting the season on the suspension list. Graham will be assisted by Ally Watt and John Montgomery and they will be delighted to welcome John Kennedy, Chris Crawford and Grant Griffen back from the injuries which ruled them out of the latter part of last season. Former first team keeper Graham MacPherson takes charge of the Inveraray reserves but he will be without Lewis Montgomery and Niall Shaw for the team’s opening fixture as both serve one-games bans for passing the disciplinary points threshold. Inverness – In one of the surprise moves of the close season, former Lovat boss Allan MacRae will join Drew Mcneil as co-manager of the Inverness first team. Former Lochcarron player Mark Sproule is back after missing last season and another ex-Lochcarron player, Calum MacKay, has also signed for the club. Kilmallie – The Canal Parks side just failed at the final hurdle last season in their quest to return to shinty’s top flight, losing to Kingussie in the Marine Harvest Premiership play-off match. They have strengthened their squad ahead of the 2016 campaign resigning Grant MacKenzie from Ballachulish and signing Duncan Rodger from neighbours Fort William. However Scottish international forward John Stewart has decided to announce his retirement. Kilmory – The MacRae Park side finished bottom of Marine Harvest South Division 1 last season. They will play in Marine Harvest South Division 2 this year where they will be one of the more fancied sides. They do not have a fixture on the opening day of the shinty season in what is a seven team league. Kingussie – Co-managers Russell Jones and Davie Anderson remain at the helm at the Dell. They welcome Thomas Borthwick back after a period playing football for Strathspey Thistle. Fraser Munro is also likely to be more involved than last season but work commitments will greatly restrict Louis Munro’s availability. Kinlochshiel – Colin Fraser begins a third term as Kinlochshiel first team manager. Scotland international Conor Cormack has signed from Beauly and he is expected to assume the buckshee back role. John Don MacKenzie is back in the fold after a spell with Glasgow Mid Argyll. However top scorer Jordan Fraser is suspended for the first two matches of the season. Work has been ongoing at Kinlochshiel’s new pitch at Balmacara and the west coast club will be guided by the contractors as to when it will be ready to play on. Kyles Athletic – Norman MacDonald and Kenny MacDonald will co-manage the Kyles Athletic first team with James Perlich continuing as trainer. The Tighnabruaich side are still without defenders Donald Irvine and Zac Coley who are both working abroad. Defender Sandy MacVicar made an appearance after a long-term injury towards the end of last season and he will be able to make a big contribution on the park. Lewis Camanachd – Duncan MacIntyre has replaced Iain Sinclair in the manager’s hot-seat at Lewis and the Islanders have been training hard for the new season with Will Church and Ally Lamont leading the training. The Islanders have also been working hard on their youth network with Scotland Ladies Assistant Coach Eoghan Stewart appointed Head of Youth Development. Iain Sinclair stays involved, becoming the club’s fixtures secretary. Lewis will start the season with their usual run of away matches and they will be without Daniel Gallagher who suffered a broken hand pre-season whilst Scott Murray has joined Aberdeen University. With keeper Graham Cay not always available after a change of job, Eoghan Stewart has taken over between the sticks. Lochaber – With Ally Ferguson continuing as first team manager, Lochaber have welcome John Sweeney back into the fold after several years with Aberdeen University. Stuart Callison was top scorer last season and he has already netted eight times in three pre-season outings. The Spean Bridge side will be captained by Brian MacDonald this season. Lochcarron – Ross Brown has stepped down as Lochcarron first team manager. Brown will be replaced by Alan MacKay and Andrew Slaughter who will co-manage the team. The west coast side will play in Marine Harvest North Division 2 this season and the experienced Peter MacKenzie will captain the side. Lochside Rovers – Lochside Rovers continue to provide a conveyor-belt of talent to the Oban Camanachd first team. With youngsters like Daniel MacVicar already making the step up to the senior side, the likes of Ross MacMillan and Daniel MacMillan will be pushing hard to be next. They only missed out on the Marine Harvest South Division 1 title to Bute last season on goal difference. Lovat – John MacRitchie will look for more success for the Balgate side after lifting the 2015 Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup in his first year in charge. He will be without Jamie Matheson who has switched to Boleskine but the return to fitness of Scotland U21 international Graeme MacMillan following a leg-break will be a real tonic. Calum MacAulay will be out for at least the early months of the season as he recovers after being hit on the side of the head by a shinty ball during the pre-season. Lorne MacKay is banned for the opener against Skye Camanachd. Newtonmore – First team manager Paul John MacKintosh has named Steven MacDonald as his captain for the forthcoming season whilst club stalwart Norman Campbell will also assist with the running of the team. However there will be changes at the Eilan as long-serving keeper Michael Ritchie announced his retirement at the end of last season and Owen Fraser is expected to take over in goal. 2014 captain Scott Chisholm has moved abroad and 2015 captain Cameron Binnie is unlikely to feature for the senior side this season because of work commitments. Second team forward Calum Stewart plans a switch to New Zealand in April. Jamie Robinson is on the road to full fitness after under-going a hernia operation during the close season. Fraser MacKintosh will miss the start of the season as he is abroad. Newtonmore’s opening first and second team league fixtures against their Kinlochshiel counter-parts have been postponed as the club’s players and officials will attend the funeral on Saturday of Carole MacKintosh, wife of first team manager Paul John MacKintosh who sadly passed away last weekend. Oban Camanachd – Manager Iain Hay has added Willie Neilson to his squad, with the player signing from Taynuilt. Andrew MacCuish has recovered from a hand injury whilst Connor Howe will feature after his move to the States was delayed until later in the year because of an arm injury. Oban Celtic – Oban Celtic played their part in a thriving shinty scene in Oban as they finished third in a competitive Marine Harvest South Division 1 last season. Scotland U21 player Daniel Madej was converted from full back to attack during the 2015 campaign. They will be managed this year by Kenny Wotherspoon who has added the experience of David “Skinny” MacInnes to his squad. Oban Lorn – Oban Lorn follow up last year’s return to senior shinty when they finished a credible fifth in Marine Harvest South Division 2. They start their campaign away to the Bute seconds and they will be without Calum MacLean who is banned for the opening match of the season. Skye Camanachd – Skye Camanachd return to shinty’s top flight for the first time since 2002. Keeper Iain MacLeod will be unavailable for some of the season so Jamie Gannon will start in goal. Will Cowie will miss the first six games of the season as he is abroad. The Islanders will continue to use one management team to run both their teams. John MacLeod will lead the firsts with David Pringle taking a lead role with the reserves. Donnie MacDonald, Douglas MacDougall and Aonghas MacDonald make up the remainder of the management team with Kenny MacLeod and Ewen MacLean assisting with training. Strachur – The Strachurmore side have made a late decision not to take part in competitive shinty this season. Strathglass – New manager David Balharry made a good start to a rebuilding job at Cannich last season with the older players joined by youngsters such as Jono Price who was a regular in 2015. Strathglass will be the only first team in the Marine Harvest North Division 1 this season with the remainder of the league made up of reserve teams. Indeed Beauly are the only reserve team in the division which doesn’t have a senior team in the Marine Harvest Premiership. Strathspey Camanachd – Former Newtonmore player Mark MacDonald will captain Badenoch & Strathspey this season as the Grantown Grammar School based-side look to continue their progression. Lawrence Belleni has moved to Glasgow Mid Argyll and youngsters Liam Tinney, Connor Aubrey and Calvin Smith will get a chance to shine this season. Tayforth – Tayforth have been training hard at Peffermill ahead of the new season and they open their league programme with a match against the Bute reserves at Musselburgh. Conor Sweeney from Lochaber and ex-Kingussie players Hamish Anderson are valuable additions to their squad. Taynuilt – Manager Neil Gillies suffered a pre-season blow with the news that talisman Willie Neilson has signed for Oban Camanachd. Ryan Gillies is one of several promising youngsters playing at the Taynuilt Playing Field. |