The two early-season domestic rugby competitions both take a step towards their respective endgames this weekend.

In the Shimmin Wilson Manx Trophy, Douglas Celts head for King William’s College and only need to avoid defeat by 33 points to qualify for the final.

In the Manx Bowl, there’s a little more mileage to cover but a win for Vagabonds B at Castletown will place them in a strong position, as would a win for Western Vikings at Ramsey B.

While it’s never quite a foregone conclusion, Emerging Nomads were always likely to struggle in the Manx Trophy after an unlikely set of results saw them clinch a top-three finish in last season’s Shield.

They lost their earlier match against Douglas Celts 43-10 which means that a win for Emerging this weekend would only be decisive if they made up that deficit.

Any other result would see Douglas into the final against Southern Nomads on a date yet to be fixed.

Emerging did put more than 50 past Southern Nomads last Saturday which is a great result for them even though they lost. On paper, however, they won’t be strong enough to beat Douglas on the day.

In the Manx Bowl it’s much closer. All teams have played three times but Vagas are thus far unbeaten and are pretty much odds on for one of the final berths. Defeat for Castletown this week would, however, end their challenge completely.

Town have lost their last two but to be fair, haven’t played badly. They were outpaced by Ramsey’s Reece Noden two weeks ago and last week against Vikings they were missing a few key players, but were still in the game after an hour and could have done better with the possession they had.

Vagas skipper Ollie Morris is new to the role and keen to do well, therefore they will start as favourites for the points at Ballafletcher.

Up at Mooragh Park, Western Vikings are hoping to complete their first double of the season. They beat Ramsey easily at QEII, but with a few injuries to contend with, the return may be a little tougher.

Liam Sweeney was absent last week and midfield playmaker Danny Howard went off with a shoulder knock. Also a concern for Vikings was the influential Alex Gibson who took a knock to a knee but limped on to the final whistle - while he’s undoubtedly tough, he may be a doubt.

Ramsey as ever have a mix of youth and experience. Against Castletown they welcomed back Jordan Walsh and Ben Pickett and, with new full back Dan Foley, the three worked well in the back line. This should be a tight game with Vikings as favourites.

Fixtures for Saturday, October 13

North One West

De La Salle v Douglas @ De La Salle

Lancs/Cheshire Division Three

Old Bedians v Vagabonds @ Old Bedians

Women’s NC North West One

Vagabonds v Broughton Park @ Ballafletcher ko 11.15am

Shimmin Wilson Manx Trophy

Emerging Nomads v Douglas Celts @ KWC ko 2.15pm

Shimmin Wilson Manx Bowl

Ramsey B v Western Vikings @ Mooragh Park ko 2.15pm

Vagabonds B v Castletown

@ Ballafletcher ko 2.15pm