Sunshine Coast Lightning Head Coach Belinda Reynolds will face off against her old Club this weekend, as her new side takes on the in-form West Coast Fever.
West Coast Fever currently sit top of the ladder, only dropping one game last weekend by one point, while Lightning have pushed their way into the top four after a dominant win over the Collingwood Magpies on Tuesday.
Previously Assistant Coach at the Fever, Reynolds will be eager to take the win on her new home ground.
“It’s definitely a game that’s close to home, and I’m looking forward to the contest. Fever have been in great form, and we’ve been building our performances, so I’m looking forward to going up against one of the best teams in the country,” she said.
“I think Fever will be looking hard at their review this week to see how they finished off their recent game. So we’re very wary of how they’ll attack this contest. But we will also review our performance and have been previewing them all week.”
Reflecting on the inaugural ANZAC Day match, Reynolds commended her team for being courageous early.
“I thought we were really courageous at the beginning of the game, which was great. I think we need to attack the contest early again this week, but I think a four-quarter performance will be required,” she said.
“There was a great sense of belief from the group after the game, and I think we were really proud of our performance. We put it all out there, but there’s absolutely still room for improvement.”
“We’re extremely hungry. We know how important this is in relation to the ladder and we are confident we can do it.”
Young Lightning defender Ash Ervin said while the game against Fever is going to be tough, the West Coast side are beatable.
“That game against Collingwood was really big for us. We needed a win and on a day like ANZAC Day, it was just that bit more special. So it’s good to get that one ticked off and onto the next,” she said.
“I guess there’s always pressure. Especially now because we have had those even wins and losses and this next game is going to be really big against Fever. We know how much of a dominant side they are. But I think they are beatable and we can definitely match up against them.”
Sunshine Coast Lightning will take on the West Coast Fever this Sunday at 2pm at UniSC Arena. Tickets are available to purchase via Ticketek, or watch live via Foxtel or Kayo Freebies.
