Lovat and Glenurquhart get their chance to shine on Saturday when the first of the major trophies will be decided with the 102nd final of the Co-operative MacTavish Cup.
The clash between these near neighbours – there are only nine miles between their home grounds – is keenly anticipated and a large crowd is expected at the city's Bught Park for the showdown.
Lovat manager Alan MacRae said: "The area around Inverness is steeped in shinty, yet our teams have always been overshadowed by sides from Badenoch, Lochaber and Argyll.
"This season things are different, though it's hard to believe that in over a century of playing shinty this is the first time the clubs have met in a senior final."
That may be, but both sides have appeared on the big stage before, the most recent being Glenurquhart in 2008 when they lost 5-1 to Kingussie.
Lovat have to go back to 1977 for their last MacTavish final – they were beaten by Newtonmore – but they did win it in 1953, the year they achieved a clean sweep of the game's trophies.
The form book in 2013 also tends to favour Lovat. In the clashes between the sides this season they have been comfortably on top, scoring eight goals and in the process knocking Glenurquhart out of the MacAulay Cup, the trophy they had won the previous season.
Lovat's league position is also healthier, with them vying with Newtonmore for superiority. Indeed, until their Camanachd Cup loss at Kingussie, they had gone through the season unbeaten.
The biggest factor in Lovat's favour is their young side. The oldest player in the team is 25-year-old Ryan Ferguson and in 20-year-old Greg Matheson they have a forward who has netted 16 times this season. The acquisition of internationalist Kevin Bartlett from neighbours Caberfeidh also looks a good piece of business and has certainly added to MacRae's options up front.
In contrast, Glenurquhart have been inconsistent. While there have been excellent victories over the Badenoch big two of Kingussie and Newtonmore, there have also been indifferent performances against Kyles and Inveraray as well as Lovat.
Glen manager Drew MacNeil, who is also Scotland's head coach, confesses to having had a frustrating season.
"We have found it difficult to pick the same side two weeks running. Injuries have hampered us and we have so many lads employed offshore that player availability has become a problem some weeks.
"We have a more experienced side and we did defeat champions Newtonmore on their home ground in the semi, so we deserve to be where we are. Our senior players, such as John Barr, David Smart and keeper Stuart Mackintosh, have international experience, while in Fraser Heath and Ewan Brady we have two of the best youngsters in the Premier. We definitely feel we can win, but against Lovat anything less than a top performance won't be good enough."
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