There have been no big surprises so far in the Manx Trophy competition, but there have been some mighty close games and this weekend it promises more of the same.

Leaders Douglas North head to the Field of Dreams to face Southern Nomads while Vagabonds take a short trip down the road to face Douglas South at Port-e-Chee.

Douglas North beat Vagabonds in their opening game and Vagabonds defeated Nomads last week, therefore the Nomads versus Douglas game looks to be balanced in favour of the latter.

This, however, is the first weekend where Douglas have had to field both their teams outside of their intra-club match and much will depend on how the balance between the two is struck.

Nomads almost pipped Vagabonds last week and look to be at the top of their game, so they will definitely be up for it after two early losses.

At Port-e-Chee, it looks to be even closer. Douglas South beat Ramsey nine tries to six last Saturday but the game was much tighter than the scoreline suggests.

Joe Corkish didn’t score for Douglas last week but from hooker he was mightily impressive around the park and, with Craig Martin’s pace from scrum half, the Douglas South team are a threat from anywhere.

Vagas relied on the axis between Ryan de la Harpe and centre Ross McCulloch for their attacking ball, but they have also had consistent team selection which will help them grow from game to game.

On paper, you’d probably have to back Douglas but Vagas have some momentum building so don’t rule them out.

In the Manx Bowl, Ramsey B played Vagabonds Ladies on Tuesday night and recorded their first win with a 91-62 victory in the tag variation of the game, while both sides picked up try bonus points too.

The game was re-arranged to allow Vagabonds to travel to Guernsey at the weekend, but the closing of the airbridge scuppered that, although it does give both sides a Six Nations day off.

Corrina Daly, Lauren Ellison, Becky Dunne, Leona McGovern, Jo McCabe and Sophia Birchall all went in for Vagas. Jake Richmond, Kevyn de Souza, Brandon Atchison and Jared May were among the Ramsey scorers.

On Saturday though, there’s a battle in prospect near the top of the standings when the two sides tied for second place, Vagabonds Hornets and Castletown, meet at Ballafletcher.

The Hornets have been a little up and down: a big win away at Western Vikings was followed by being unable to field a team. Town, on the other hand, beat Vikings themselves last week and could be really up for this game.

Elsewhere in the Bowl, leaders Emerging Nomads head for Peel to meet Western Vikings. Nomads have been impressive thus far: their winning margin against Ramsey B was similar to the Vikings margin though and, if this is any yardstick, then this could be a cracking game.

Result from Tuesday, October 27:

Manx Bowl

Vagabonds Ladies 62-91 Ramsey B

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Fixtures for Saturday, October 31

all ko @ 2.15pm

Manx Trophy

PDMS Southern Nomads v Douglas North @ The Field of Dreams

Douglas South v Vagabonds @ Port-e-Chee

Manx Bowl

Vagabonds Hornets v Castletown @ Ballafletcher

Western Vikings v Emerging Nomads @ QEII

DAVE CHRISTIAN