Kinlochshiel had a fantastic debut season in the Mowi Premier League, finishing fourth. How much confidence does that give the squad going into 2025?

It’s given us a good bit of confidence as I think we took a lot of teams by surprise last year. We know the league will be just as tough if not tougher, so as a squad we are excited to be back playing and looking to build on our performances from last year!

You were named in the Team of the Season last year—a great achievement! How did it feel to be recognised, and does it add extra motivation for the new campaign?

Thanks, there are a lot of great female players, so to be recognised I was honoured! I’m personally really excited to be back playing and hope to put in the best performances I can for the team each week.

Shiel didn’t have a game last weekend, while Badenoch started with a win over Inverness. Do you see that as an advantage or would you have preferred to get a match under your belt first?

It would have been good to get the season started but having an extra week to train and get prepared to play Badenoch feels good.

Badenoch have set the standard in recent years, winning the title again in 2024. What will it take to get a result against them on Sunday?
It’s always tough playing Badenoch, they are a skilful and experienced team. I think collectively as a team we need to ensure we all show up and give our best in order to get something out of the game!

What are Kinlochshiel’s ambitions for this season, and do you feel the squad has grown from last year’s experience?
Our ambitions are to build from last year, we had such a great season but unfortunately lost motivation after being knocked out of Valerie Fraser semi-final. This year we want to continue to fight for results and build from game to game. I think the experience of winning and some tough losses last year has really helped us learn from performances and provided us with a focus and determination going into what will be a tough and competitive season with the new premier league.

It’s a big challenge to start the season against the reigning champions—how excited are you and the team to get going?
Very excited, we know it’s not going to be an easy game and with that brings nerves but we know we can put in a strong performance and that’s all we can ask for as a team.