Lovat start title bid against Kinlochshiel
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LOVAT start their bid to win their first Premiership title taking on Kinlochshiel in the season opener at Balgate.
Manager Fraser Gallacher has bolstered the Kiltarlity outfit's squad signing Fraser Heath from Glenurquhart.
Camanachd Cup winning midfielder Ryan Ferguson has re-joined the senior side after a season playing for the reserves and Calum MacAulay is also back in the fold after missing last season Kinlochshiel have lost their Scotland under-21 star Oliver MacRae who has joined Glasgow Mid Argyll.
Former Inverness and Boleskine custodian Stuart MacRae who hails from the Dornie area takes over in goals after the retiral of long serving Scott Kennedy.
Meanwhile Caberfeidh begin their second season in the Premiership with a tricky away assignment against Lochaber.
In the National Division, Glenurquhart and Strathglass meet at Blairbeg Park, Drumnadrochit.
Beauly face Fort William at Braeview while two of the pre-season promotion favourites Glasgow Mid Argyll and Skye face each other in an early season test.
Elsewhere Inverness confirmed three of their most experienced players, Dougie Rankin, Davie Glass and Alan MacLeod have quit.
Glass announced his retirement from the sport while Rankin is returning to Ballachulish where his long shinty career started while MacLeod is returning to Strathglass, a club he served with distinction in the early part of his career.
The build-up to the new season has not been smooth with a number of clubs experiencing player shortages.
Inverness stunned the shinty world with a request to drop down into area league shinty and begin the season with an eight point penalty in North Division One.
Lochaber have withdrawn their reserve side which competed in North Division Two. It was also confirmed Strachur in the South League have folded.
