Fire out to put hoodoo to bed
THE series might already be gone, but the Townsville Fire believe they still have everything to play for against the Dandenong Rangers on Saturday night as they chase a win over their “bogey team”.
The sixth- placed Rangers have struggled for consistency and look only an outside chance of playing finals, but they have had the perfect game plan to frustrate the Fire in two emphatic victories.
Townsville’s offence has been lethargic against Dandenong and they scored just 19 points in the first half as they slumped to a 78- 59 loss on the road a fortnight ago.
The Fire played with much more confidence in last weekend’s 99- 62 win over Bendigo, with Sydney Wiese dropping a game- high 29 points as they moved one game clear in third on the ladder.
But coach Claudia Brassard was under no illusions the Fire will need a vastly improved performance to finally overcome a hungry Rangers outfit at Townsville Stadium.
Assistant coaches Peter Crawford and Rachael McCully did not travel with the team to Bendigo as they started work on the Dandenong scout early in an effort to help the Fire find an edge.
“I said to them we need to sort out a game plan to beat this team. I don’t know why they keep getting us,” Brassard said. “I think the last time ( the Fire lost to Dandenong) was a ( lack of) effort so the good thing is we have a whole week to prepare for them.
“I think it comes down to their intensity at training and how hard they push them- selves and making sure that we’re playing the type of defence that Dandenong played on us. We’re here at home and we play well at home so I’m hopeful that we can get them this time.”
The Fire can take a big step towards securing a finals berth with a win over Dandenong, who will be backing up from their home clash with the Sydney Flames on Thursday night. With just five games left to play before finals, the Fire ( 10- 6) are in third place and they already have the series split over Melbourne ( 2nd, 11- 6) and Adelaide ( 5th, 9- 7).
They also have a favourable run over the next two rounds as they take on the sixth- placed Rangers ( 7- 9) followed by a double- header against Canberra ( 8th, 3- 13) and Bendigo ( 7th, 3- 12).
Shooting guard Sydney Wiese said the Fire were feel- ing good after a big win over Bendigo at the weekend, but she was adamant they need to stay focused to avoid a clean sweep against Dandenong.
“Coming down the stretch here leading into playoffs, you really have to get every single win,” she said. “I think everyone had a laser focus ( against Bendigo). We knew we needed to have a sense of urgency to come out and get a win and so we played that way.”