Yellows have the upper hand in 'test' decider against Craig Dunain
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Caithness Seconds sealed a mini "test" series win over Craig Dunain following their 21-5 victory in Thurso on Saturday.
The Yellows prevailed 36-15 at home in October before going down 34-12 in the return game in Inverness the following month.
Saturday's decider on a fine afternoon at Millbank came in the second round of the post-split games in North Caledonia 3.
Early pressure from the home side created space wide out on the right, with prop Ally Williams hauled down within a metre of the line.
The Yellows' scrum was in retreat for most of the first half, while Craig Dunain's centre John Sterling and full-back Stevie Koncel menaced with some lively midfield breaks.
Midway through the half, strong Caithness pressure ended with teenage centre Liam Flavell just failing to get a hand in goal to a teasing grubber kick from fly-half Jamie Mowat.
Shortly after, the Yellows went in front when centre Stuart Crichton picked a superb line to power through and touch down under the posts. Mowat added the extras.
Craig Dunain battled hard to get back on terms by the interval but were repulsed by stalwart defence.
They retained the advantage on the resumption and within two minutes they got on the scoreboard when Sterling jinked through to touch down without a hand laid on him.
Jake Geddes hooked the straightforward conversion wide.
The Inverness side's challenge was to peter out amid a succession of unforced errors as the Yellows closed in on victory.
On 50 minutes, a scrappy sequence just outside the visitors' 22 ended in the ball popping into the grasp of Mowat, who raced unopposed to the line.
The fly-half converted to put his side 14-5 up.
The Yellows were well served by hard-running number eight Calum Clark and combative flanker Max Kennedy. The latter's involvement ended when he was forced off with a dislocated shoulder.
Caithness retained the initiative and a series of close-in pick-and-goes 14 minutes from the end ended with prop Lachlan Jardine crashing over for a touchdown, which Mowat converted.
Coach Cameron Boyd was happy to come away with the win.
"Craig Dunain are a decent side and always push us really hard," he said. "They gave us a bit of a doing down there in the last game.
"The first half on Saturday was pretty close with us 7-0 up and them knocking on the door.
"Our defence has improved massively and our attack, when it comes together, looks really good and we were able to go on to win."
Boyd is encouraged by the progress shown over the season by the cadre of players who are new to the game or have emerged from the junior ranks.
On Saturday, he picked out second row Duncan Mackay, prop Jardine and winger Scott Mackay for special mentions.
Former regular Greens full-back Gary Mackay made a second-half appearance from the bench after a prolonged absence with a serious knee injury.
The Seconds have another home match on Saturday when they entertain Fraserburgh (3pm).
