THUNDER FACE FAMILIAR FOE
Roar star to play old side
FOOTBALL: Before she joined the Brisbane Roar, Abbey Lloyd was one of the South West Queensland Thunder’s best.
This weekend, however, she will be set to torment her old team when she lines up for Capalaba FC.
Abbey’s sister – current Thunder skipper Mel Lloyd – said her team was aware of the threat Abbey posed but would not give her any special treatment.
“She’s a fantastic player, we all know that,” she said.
“We know how she plays and what her strengths are, but then she also knows a lot about us as well.
“We’re not going to target her, though. Our focus is on shutting them down as a team, that’s what we have to do to give ourselves a shot at winning.
“I talked to her this week, and she wants to win, but she still has a soft spot for the club.”
Fresh off a bye last weekend, Lloyd said the squad had lifted its effort at training and hoped to implement a new style of play tomorrow.
“I think if anything we’ve been training harder even though we had the bye. Our fitness is an area where we really want to improve,” she said.
“We’ve also been focused on changing the way we play.
“We want to use our midfield more - have our defenders play the ball out to them (the midfield) more.
“Louise (Rolfe) is great up front for us but we can’t expect her to chase long balls all day.
“We want to work the ball up to her more – help her receive it in better positions.
“A lot of it’s mindset. In the second half of our last game with The Gap you could see it.
“We were a lot more positive in our talk and our play and there was a lot more trust.
“It made a big difference and hopefully we can do that again.”
MINOR CHANGES KEY TO RECORDING WIN
At home to Redlands Thunder defender Jacob Bigby has labelled today’s game as a “must win match”.
A disrupted start to the season hampered the Thunder’s chances but Bigby believes not a lot needs to change.
“It’s about the one percenters right now,” Bigby said. “We don’t need to change a lot – we just need to do that little bit better across the park.
“I think if we can show that little bit of improvement, fight that little bit more, we can get the win.”
With just the one win to their name this season, Redlands appear to be the ideal opponents for the Thunder, but Bigby said the squad was taking nothing for granted.
“They’re in similar position to us this season,” he said. “But there are no easy games in this competition – we can’t afford to relax.
“It’s a must win game for us, we have to go out there be calm, play our game and fight for it.
“If we can get the win I think it will really turn things around for us. It’ll give us a lot more confidence.”