Douglas Celts meet Southern Nomads in the Hartford Homes Manx Shield at Port-e-Chee this Saturday.

Both sides won their opening games with bonus points too and this weekend will surely see someone’s record go.

A mixture of youth and experience saw the Celts claim the Manx double last season, winning both the Shield and the Cup, and their early defeat of Ramsey suggests that they could be the team to beat this season too.

Much will depend on the Celts’ available squad. Percy Hampton skippered the side last season and he could call on the likes of Carl Conroy and Carl Markle-Fearns who are both hugely experienced.

Not to mention of course the 60-year-old match winner Mark Shortland who bagged the winning score against Ramsey.

Nomads though are not that dissimilar. Against Western Vikings they had the pacey youngsters Alex Maher and Tony Quinn, but in the engine room grizzled vets like Gaz Watt and Ian Hargreaves were showing their guile and grunt.

This has the makings of a tight game, but having watched Nomads at Western Vikings, they could be the team to watch this season.

FIXTURES

Saturday, October 3:

Regional Two North West

Douglas v Burnage @ Port-e-Chee ko 3pm

Counties Three ADM Lancashire/Cheshire

Vagabonds v Oldham @ Ballafletcher ko 2pm

Hartford Homes Manx Shield

Douglas Celts v Southern Nomads @ Port-e-Chee ko 2.15pm

- Reports from Saturday’s matches will appear in next week’s edition of the Isle of Man Examiner, on sale Tuesday morning.

- Calling all sports teams: we offer free publicity for local clubs and athletes in our newspapers and on our websites.

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