New skipper as Greens get set for ‘a pretty competitive division’
New skipper Cole Wilson will lead the Greens out as they kick off their Caledonian 1 North Conference campaign at home to Mackie.
Home coach Cameron Boyd would happily settle for a repeat of the 54-21 victory his men secured in the corresponding fixture last season.
But he is in no doubt that Saturday’s opener poses a stiff challenge for his troops, who are likely to be without several key players.
Saturday’s opponents are two of five teams who played in last year’s conference, along with Aberdeenshire, Ellon and Highland Seconds. They are joined by three teams who have come up from Caley 3, RAF Kinloss, North Police and Ross Sutherland.
Boyd said: “I would expect Highland Seconds to do well and Shire are ambitious and should end up in the top three.
“After that, who knows? I’d obviously love us to be up there. I think we have definitely got the potential to be at that level.
“The big issue again will be availability – if we could play our best 19 each week, I’d be confident we would be challenging at the top.”
Boyd accepts that is probably true for a number of their rivals, with many teams travelling with significantly weaker squads.
The coach is sure the promoted trio will prove tough opponents, while Caithness will again be looking to secure a first-ever win in Ellon.
He said: “There’s nobody you would say are going to be off the pace. It has the makings of a pretty competitive division.”
The Greens’ victory over Mackie in November came after they themselves had been well beaten 45-12 in Stonehaven.
Boyd said: “They would seem to be of a similar level to us. They are a good team and we’d again expect a very hard match from them.”
Boyd has been deprived of the services of fly-half Jamie Mowat and converted centre Max Kennedy after foot and calf injuries they suffered respectively in the recent 38-26 defeat in a friendly against Orkney at Millbank.
Hooker Duncan MacMillan has recovered from a shoulder knock which forced his early exit in that game.
There are also question marks over farmer brothers Scott and Dougie Webster, who will be harvesting this weekend given favourable weather.
Absentees could see newcomer Aaron Brook make his competitive debut wearing the number 10 shirt.
Number eight Wilson was announced as this season’s skipper at Tuesday night’s training session.
Boyd said the Halifax-born Dounreay policeman, last season’s players’ player of the year, was the obvious choice.
“He ticks all the boxes on and off the pitch,” the coach said. “He’s well respected by the players and he has a sensible head on him.
“I’m not looking for him to do anything different on the pitch as he already communicates well with the players. As a player, he is also versatile as he can play front row, back row or at 12.”
Kick-off on Saturday is 3pm.
Mackie narrowly lost out to Caley Midlands Conference outfit Panmure in Stonehaven in their last pre-season outing. They had led 19-0 before the Dundee visitors capped a late surge with a last-play converted try seeing them edge home 38-36.
Caithness Seconds open their Caley 3 campaign with an away trip to Turriff on September 21.