The 2018 season is the 10th Manx hockey campaign since a reorganisation created the PwC Premier Divisions for men and women.

Incredibly, on the women’s side nobody else has held the title in the last decade other other than Vikings who were nominated for an England Hockey award last summer, on the basis of an incredible run of 115 domestic matches without defeat, which serves as the starting point for the current season.

Vikings clearly commence the Premier Division as favourites, but other clubs will feel they are in with a fighting chance of breaking the Manx All-Blacks run.

Leading the charge last season was Valkyrs, who have grown as a team over the past few years and have several leading island individuals.

Ramsey have also been strong for several seasons now and have a strong defence capable of making Vikings work hard for goals, while Bacchas will hope to improve on last year’s fourth position in the league.

Sadly for the neutral, the three chasing teams have a habit of taking points from each other which tends to gift the title to Vikings relatively early in the season.

Key watching point for the season will be whether one of these teams can break free from the others and hunt Vikings down for the title.

In recent years, the men’s league has started to follow in a similar vein - the gap between Bacchas and the rest of the league appears to have grown.

Bacchas have themselves had a winning run stretching back to the start of the decade - an eighth title this year will give them the longest winning streak in Manx hockey history.

Vikings led the chase last season and will note with some pleasure that key characters in the Bacchas team have left the island for education or employment elsewhere and hope that this offers them opportunities to capitalise.

Meanwhile, out west Valkyrs will have been disappointed with winning fewer than half of their games last season and will hope to use a few keen teenagers now firmly embedded in the A team to create opportunities.

Finally, the Bridgewaters Mixed Plate Final, postponed from the week before Christmas, takes place on Sunday afternoon at the NSC.

Ramsey will start as favourites against Bacchas C, replacing their own B team in the league following the fielding of an ineligible player.

On paper Ramsey should make easy work of Bacchas’ third string, but with attentions having moved onto the men’s and women’s leagues, the chance of a surprise remains.

JAMES RUSSELL