There are no fewer than nine debutants in the latest installment of Isle of Man Newspapers’ Team of the Week.

The large number of TotW newcomers is perhaps testament to how competitive the Canada Life Premier League is this season at both ends of the table.

The list of debutants includes many familiar names who have somewhat surprisingly had to wait this long to make their seasonal bows, while there are also spaces for some of the island’s up-and-coming stars.

Claiming the goalkeeper gloves this week is Damyan Petkov who produced an excellent performance for St John’s as they very nearly claimed a point from champions St George’s, pulling off several superb saves as the Johnners went down 2-1 to a late Furo Davies goal.

Also impressing in that game was St George’s mainstay Johnny Myers who is one of only two players in the latest TotW with more than one appearance to their name thus far. The centre-back was in fine form as he helped nullify the St John’s attack and therefore picks up his third call-up of the season.

Slotting in alongside him in a three-man defence are two Toms, namely Smith and Wood from Corinthians and Peel respectively.

Smith produced a man-of-the-match performance for the Whites as the Ballafletcher side battled from a goal down to beat Rushen United 2-1, therefore boosting their Railway Cup hopes.

Likewise, Wood was in good form as he helped Peel recover from being 2-1 down away at in-form Douglas Athletic to triumph 4-2 in order to cement the westerners’ place in the top four.

Claiming the man of the match honours in that contest at Springfield Road was Lee Gale who continued his comeback from injury with a starring role against the Pinks, netting a hat-trick - including two late strikes - to claim the three points.

The winger forms part of a five-man midfield which also includes the prodigious talents of Jay Skelcher-Maxwell, Jack Camarda, Dean Leece and Joey Rothwell.

Skelcher-Maxwell, despite being crowned Young Player of the Month, had surprisingly not featured in TotW this season but does so now after an excellent performance for Geordies against St John’s.

Another to shine in that contest was Johnners’ talented midfielder Dean Leece who ran the show against St George’s, while Camarda did likewise for Castletown against Douglas Royal as the southerners won the relegation showdown 6-3, helped by Camarda’s stunning first-half strike.

While one of the Rothwell’s team-mates stole the headlines for Marown, he was in superb form himself as he inspired the Crosby side to a stunning 5-1 victory away at Laxey, their first points of the season.

The player in question who grabbed the limelight at Glen Road was Ashley Higginbotham who helped himself to no fewer than four goals against the Miners to boost Marown’s hopes of Premier League survival.

Lining up alongside him up front is Mike Williams who, despite being on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline, excelled for Rushen in their Railway Cup showdown with Corinthians.

Williams grabbed an early goal against the Whites and was a handful throughout, therefore he earns his second Team of the Week call-up of the season.

Also claiming his second appearance is Stuart Kneen who claims the referee of the week honours thanks to a good performance in the middle of the St George’s and St John’s clash.