On paper, Douglas versus Sulby looked like the standout tie of week seven in Isle of Man Rifle Association’s Winter League, but the scores didn’t quite live up to the billing.

Sam Jones and Dave Kneale led the charge for Douglas with matching 96s, yet the home side had enough depth and experience on the firing point to secure a comfortable victory.

Sulby’s strength in numbers also helped them claim Division Two and Division Three points.

Castletown’s trip to the Sinclair Range yielded the highest Division One team score of the round. John Brewis and Robin McFee topped the visitors’ card with 97s, while Jean Quaye continued her excellent form for Sandsiders with a 97 of her own.

The best individual performances of the night came at Kirk Michael, where Suzanne McKnight and Rachael Glover both posted excellent 98s for the home side.

But the standout score across the entire league was delivered by Laxey’s Adrian Cowin, who shot a superb 99 - the highest mark of the week.

Sulby v Douglas

Pete Faragher 95 Sam Jones 96

Julian Teare 94 Dave Kneale 96

Mark Cain 93 Dave Humphrey 95

Peter Webb 92 Christian Eaton 91

Bob Radcliffe (Jr) 91 Sam Cartwright 75

465 453

Sandsiders v Castletown

Jean Quaye 97 John Brewis 97

Steve Callus 95 Robin McFee 97

Ian Kneale 83 Richard Arthur 96

Julie Quaye 81 John Paul Bridson 96

Phil Kneen 76 Nigel Christian 96

432 482

Kirk Michael v Laxey

Suzanne McKnight 98 Adrian Cowin 99

Rachael Glover 98 Harry Creevy 97

Richard Kijak 95 Gemma Kermode 96

Perryn Watson 91 John Wood 95

Steven Curphey 89

385 474

Sulby had a walkover

Mark Boyde 91

James Allanson 90

Orry Teare 90

Will Fenton (Jr) 89

Tom Radcliffe (Jr) 89

449

Sandsiders v Castletown

Joseph Kneale (Jr) 46 Steve Gardner 95

Duncan Watterson 94

Neil Masson 92

Ian Arthur 90

Andy Bell 84

46 455

Sulby had a walkover

Darren Smith 84

Justine McQueen 84

Ben Stevens 81

Lizzie Radcliffe (Jr) 80

329

Castletown had a walkover

Charles Carter 79

79

With the first third of league fixtures now complete - each club meeting its opponents three times over the season - Port St Mary lead the way across all three divisions.

The race for individual honours is also beginning to take shape. Sandsiders’ Jean Quaye currently heads the gun-score table with 587, but former champions Harry Creevy and Ben Kelly remain close behind on 585, setting up an intriguing battle as the season moves into its middle phase.

JP BRIDSON