Bull Sharks v Sunshine Coast Thunder
USC
Sapphire Series
Last time you met:
Nissan Arena, Rd 12, 2023
Thunder won 56-53
What's in store:
Thunder has seven Sunshine Coast Lightning Training Partners in their Sapphire team. They will be physically and mentally well prepared. They are undefeated this season and will be confident.
What’s changed:
We have recruited well in the off season. We come off our hard-earned win against Titans and will look to keep building our new connections game by game.
Look out for:
Lauren Aubrey is likely to match up against Annika-Lee Jones or Charlie Bell who are both 195cm tall, so she will have her work cut out for her. But we hope that coming off a stellar debut last weekend will have the confidence to do a great job. I will be looking for smoother transition between our mid court and shooters, with the connections starting to consolidate. I am excited about the match-up between Mia Stower and Shannon Eagland. Both former SSN players, this will be a battle to keep an eye on.
A new look:
Throughout the season, we want to wear our Indigenous attire to demonstrate our unwavering support and solidarity with our First Nations People. This will not be solely confined to Indigenous Round.
The opposition:
This upcoming match will pose a significant challenge. The Thunder's strong start to the season, coupled with their high-calibre athletes and bench depth, makes them formidable opponents. Given their similarity in playing style to ours, I believe that executing our game plan will be crucial, possibly resulting in a nail-biting contest that could go down to the wire.
With Bec Stower
Ruby Series
Last time you met:
Nissan Arena Rd 12, 2023.
Bull Sharks won 54 - 49
On reflection:
A lot has changed since last year. The Thunder seemed to have recruited well from their pathways and have a new coach in Australian Diamond Jacqui Delaney.
What’s new:
We also have a new Ruby team and have recruited well. However we have our most experienced players in Abi Houston and Joesi Gisinger both out due to injury.
Look out for:
Abby Boland had a solid game in Round 2 and was our MVP we will be looking to her to produce another strong performance under the post.
The opposition:
It’s going to be a tough game, Thunder is always a tough physical opponent and we will need to stick to our game plane 100 per cent if we want to take the win from them.
With Kim Boland