Ready for the new season and renewed optimism in Camanachd Leòdhais camp for the league campaign

Camanachd Leòdhais enters the year with optimism after posting arguably their best league season to date in 2018, having both scored more goals and earned more points on the pitch than ever before.

John and Andrew MacAskill, manager and assistant manager respectively, return for a second year at the helm looking to build on the foundations they put in place last year.

With the majority of the team no older than twenty-five, the hope will be that the young nucleus can continue to push on with another year of experience under their belts.

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Lewis will have the unenviable task of having to find a replacement for goalkeeper Conor MacDonald, who has opted to give the season a miss following his move to Glasgow.

Ruaraidh MacMillan also looks set to miss the season due to his studies whilst David Cleary has moved to Thailand.

Michael MacLeod has returned following a year playing in North Division One with Aberdeen University.

Lewis will hope he plays as well as he did in 2017 when he scooped up the club’s player of the year trophy.

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Lewis also expects to have the services of former Caberfeidh fullback Ryan Symonds, who has relocated to the island for work.

Paddy Sinclair and Connor Chalmers, two players who have been staples in the side for much of the last few years only managed a game between them in 2018 but intend to be available more in the upcoming season.

Ally Lamont will be captaining the side this year with his brother Donald as his deputy.

Record goal scorer

Donald is four goals shy of becoming the club’s record goal scorer and he will expect to reach that milestone this season.

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Paul Duke and Rab MacAskill will also look to chip in goals.

The club will lean on the younger players once again this season.

Fifteen year olds Stewart MacRitchie, Daniel Harrison and Callum MacRitchie all scored their first goals for the club last year.

Callum was the starting wing centre by the end of the season and won the club’s junior player of the year.

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The senior awards fell to Ronan Sinclair and Scott MacLeod, two vital cogs in the team, both of whom turn just nineteen this year.

With North Division Two having been cut from eleven teams to eight this year, Lewis will have a less gruelling schedule.

Last year, they only played one competitive game less than the treble-winning Newtonmore colts team and that was despite only entering one cup.