Come on, feel the noise
Coach, players want fans to drive home the advantage in game one
THE Townsville Fire have pulled out all the stops on the training court and now they need the Townsville community to get behind their quest for the WNBL championship.
The Fire will host the Melbourne Boomers in the opening game of the grand final series at Townsville Stadium tomorrow night, with the blockbuster clash headed for a sellout.
Captain Suzy Batkovic said she wants to see their home court packed to the rafters as the Fire chase the all- important first win in the best- of- three series.
“I think game one is a big key and having it at home is definitely going to help us,” Batkovic said.
“I know that the community’s right behind us and our fans are super fans, they’re pretty amazing.
“Even the last game that we played here against Sydney ( in the semi- finals) they were incredible.
“The atmosphere was amazing in here so I’m really looking forward to having them back on Saturday.”
The Fire are shooting for their third title in four years and coach Claudia Brassard said the loyal support from Townsville basketball fans had played a crucial role in that success.
“There’s no better place to be than in Townsville in grand final week,” Brassard said. “We know we play well at home and a big reason for that is the crowd.
“They really give us some support when we need it and j ust to hear them cheering when we need to get that stop on defence is massive.
“I really hope they’re coming out on Saturday and they’re going to be nice and loud for us.
“There’s not many teams that can say they’ve been to five of the last six grand finals. I think it’s really special and we need to celebrate it.”
Star forward Cayla George was adamant the Fire can make the most of their shot at the championship with their passionate home fans rallying behind the team.
“It’s the grand final so it’s what we train and play for. You do it as a team and you want to make the grand final and win championships,” George said.
“Up in the North here, it’s what we like to do. We will step it up and make it a great series.”
WE KNOW WE PLAY WELL AT HOME AND A BIG REASON FOR THAT IS THE CROWD. CLAUDIA BRASSARD