Krakens hope to have a clutch of players back to face Quines

Second seasons for sports sides are notoriously tough as the novelty factor evaporates and the hard grind of competition kicks in.

For Caithness Krakens, following up their highly successful debut campaign has been particularly challenging given the number of players who have, for one reason or another, been unavailable.

They crashed to their sixth defeat in the Caley North Region League on Saturday, losing 53-7 away to the strong-going Peterhead.

Mike Flavell's team travelled with just 12, with the game comprising three 20-minute thirds of 12 versus 12.

The home side were dominant in the first and third segments but were made to work hard in the middle third in which they scored two tries to the Krakens' one.

A concerted spell of pressure saw stand-in stand off Karlyn Bernard touch down for the visitors, with Megan Douglas converting.

Flavell praised the spirit of his side in defeat, singling out a debutant, Frenchwoman Fanny Helleux, for her terrier tackling.

The result puts Peterhead third, one point behind Shetland Valkyries, who closed the gap on leaders Craig Dunain with their 54-5 victory over the Inverness side in Lerwick on Saturday.

Flavell is hoping to welcome back a clutch of players for Saturday's match against Aberdeenshire Quines at Millbank. It kicks off at 2pm.

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