Greens have a score to settle with in-form Grangemouth
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The Greens will be running into the form team of Caley 1 when they travel to first-foot Grangemouth on Saturday.
The central belt side have won their last three games, including a 17-12 triumph at Dunfermline just before Christmas.
That put a spoke in the Fifers' title charge while also igniting Grangemouth's late bid to land the silverware.
Caithness sit fourth, eight points shy of their opponents on Saturday, with four games remaining.
The Greens have a score to settle with Grangemouth following their 49-15 defeat in the National Shield on the opening day of the season.
And they can take heart from a spirited performance in the league game in Thurso at the start of October when the visitors salvaged a 7-7 draw with a late converted try.
Caithness coach Kenny Russell said: "We played well that day and I thought we should have won.
"They were a totally different side to the one which gave us a bit of a doing down there and we were a good bit stronger in the game up here."
The festive break has made finalising a travelling squad difficult, though hard-hitting number eight Grant Anderson is out with a hip injury he picked up during the match against the Exiles/Students on December 27.
Full-back Cameron Ryder is also out with a hand injury he sustained at work, while centre Stuart Crichton is unavailable.
Second row Bruce Stewart – who played for the Exiles – has been recruited to join the squad, while loose forward Reece Coghill is set to return after a bout of illness.
Caithness trained at the indoor riding centre in Halkirk this week when Russell was looking to remedy some of the many individual, unit and team shortcomings that contributed towards their 41-8 shellacking from the Exiles.
He says the season has been bedevilled by the lack of a settled squad, especially on the road.
"The biggest problem I've had has been the availability of players to play and to train," Russell admitted. "We've had to constantly chop and change, particularly for the away games.
"There's been too much of a churn of players in certain positions, which has impacted on our consistency."
Elsewhere on Saturday, Ellon would take a major step towards clinching the title were they to complete a double over visitors Dunfermline.
Caithness 2nd XV, meanwhile, are due to play their rearranged Caley 3 North double header with Stornoway in Invergordon on Saturday.
