Their round nine opener on Saturday night at Nissan Arena is a rematch of a round one battle in which the Thunder recorded a 60-43 victory.
The Tigers now sit one place higher on the ladder, in fourth position, but coach Jo Morgan knows a win against a Thunder outfit bruised by recent losses won’t be an easy feat.
“There are many incentives for us with this game,” Morgan said.
“Yes, the obvious being to consolidate ourselves into the four, but it is also about challenging for a higher position. The only way for us to do that is to redeem our first round result against Thunder, which we want another crack at.”
Morgan’s conscious of the dangers of underestimating an opposition under the tutelage of her friend, and outstanding Queensland coach, Simone Nalatu.
“We are a different line, gathering in confidence and getting results, but also fully aware of a wounded Thunder,” she said.
“They still have powerful and experienced players in their line so we are under no illusion it will be a good scalp for us to have. In saying that, Simone also knows how to get the best out of her players technically and tactically.”
The Tigers remain without captain Amy Sommerville due to injury, although there’s hope she may return to the court during next weekend’s double-header.
“We still have the same ten with Annie (Lawrie) replacing Amy, plus always utilising our eleventh player spot from our Rubies as an opportunity for them to develop and see how they can handle the Sapphire Series for the future,” Morgan said.
“We recognise the importance of our Ruby squad and how imperative it is to give them opportunities to develop and grow our culture.”
Another battle between coaching buddies will take place late on Sunday afternoon in Ipswich when the TAE Aerospace Jets host the Brisbane South Wildcats from 5pm.
The Wildcats are buzzing following last weekend’s victory over the Thunder, but coach Megan Lynch knows her mate Paula Stuart will have the ladder-leading Jets running sharp.
“It’ll be an interesting game, as we lost by 22 in the first round,” Lynch said.
“It’s going to be a good marker for me to see how the girls are going, given the Jets were our first game of the season, and how far we’ve travelled. I’m hoping the girls will rise to the challenge. It’ll be a hard game of netball which is what I always like.”
Stuart has repeatedly flagged the Wildcats as the competition's most improved team.
“They’re the ones coming up, and will be on a high after Thunder, so we’ll have to be doing our homework against these guys,” Stuart said.
The third game of the round has the ACU Brisbane North Cougars taking on the Bond University Bull Sharks on Sunday afternoon at South Pine Indoor Sports Complex.
The last time these two sides met was also in the opening round, when the Cougars managed a 70-52 win.
For a comprehensive draw and the HART Sapphire Series ladder, please click HERE.
KommunityTV
Round 9, June 10
Sunshine Coast Thunder v Carina Leagues Club Tigers
4pm Ruby, 6pm Sapphire
