The GIANTS will take their pre-season preparations to the next level this weekend when they travel to the Sunshine Coast to take on the Lightning.
The two teams will play behind closed doors on Friday night before playing in front of the Sunshine Coast crowd on Saturday.
The games mark the beginning of the GIANTS’ block of pre-season matches which feature trips to Bendigo as well as the Gold Coast for the league-wide Suncorp Team Girls Cup.
It’s a time of the year that excites fans, players and coaches as the countdown to the season gets even closer.
“I am excited,” said Julie Fitzgerald.
“I was so happy with how they initially came back before Christmas and the hard work they put in there.
“And then since we’ve come back this year, the hard work has continued but we’ve shifted our focus to more of a tactical approach and we’re starting to work on our combinations and game plays, so it’s going to be really exciting to see them come up against a SSN team.”
Intra-club practice match play has been a common theme to the training schedule since returning post-Christmas, but the opportunity to come up against other SSN teams is invaluable at this time of the year.
“It’s entirely different,” Fitzgerald said.
“It gives us an opportunity to see how different players go against different players and how combinations work and all those things we talk about.
“We’ve got some really young girls coming away with us, so it’s a fantastic opportunity to see how they go in that elevated environment and against something or someone different and I’m really looking forward to see how they stand up.”
Jo Harten will be unavailable for this weekend’s matches following her knee surgery on Monday, while Amy Parmenter and April Brandley will also be rested for routine injury management.
All four Training Partners – Ang Frketic, Jemma Donoghue, Charli Fidler and Erin O’Brien – will travel with the team.
As for what to expect from the Sunshine Coast Lightning? It could be a new year, new team sort of vibe.
South African defender Karla Pretorius returns to the Lightning line up, youngster Charlie Bell enters the circle at the other end and the Lightning enter the 2023 season with a new coach – Belinda Reynolds.
“It’s going to be great to see Karla back in there and playing with Tara (Hinchcliffe), it’s going to be really good to see how their combinations go,” Fitzgerald said.
“And obviously their shooters were in fantastic form when they were away with the Diamonds so we know we have a really good challenge ahead of us.
“I think Belinda will bring something new and fresh, she’ll have her own style and own way of doing things, so that’s something else we’ll need to look at and learn to adapt to.”
The match won’t be live streamed, however the GIANTS will provide score updates throughout the match on their social media accounts.
Friday 3 February – Lightning v GIANTS
Closed Match
Saturday 4 February – Lightning v GIANTS
UniSC Stadium, 12:30pm (1:30pm AEDT)
GIANTS Squad
Jemma Donoghue
Sophie Dwyer
Charlie Fidler
Ang Frketic
Maddie Hay
Matisse Letherbarrow
Tilly McDonell
Lauren Moore
Erin O’Brien
Jamie-Lee Price
Amy Sligar
