Return of George won’t put Batkovic off her game Fired up for rematch

TOWNSVILLE Fire captain Suzy Batkovic insists she won’t be distracted by the individual battle with former teammate Cayla George in Sunday’s highly anticipated clash with the Melbourne Boomers.

George will return to Townsville Stadium for the first time as a Boomer on what will be a big occasion for both teams in the grand final rematch.

Batkovic and George formed a devastating front- court combination at the Fire which was crucial to all three of the club’s WNBL championship wins.

It will be an intriguing match- up when Batkovic and George go head- to- head, but the Fire skipper said they were focusing their efforts on how to stop the Boomers as a team, not just George.

“I know a lot of people go on about when someone leaves, but we don’t really worry about it to be honest,” Batkovic said.

“For us, it’s what do the Melbourne Boomers do well.

“We’re more making sure we have the scout down pat to try and force them out of what they like to do. In terms of scout, that’s one we probably don’t have to overthink because everybody knows what she ( George) likes to do, but the biggest thing for us is locking down as a team.”

The Fire have lacked cohesion at times in the early rounds and Batkovic described them as being “all over the shop” in last weekend’s overtime loss to Perth.

The Lynx leapt to a 30- 12 lead in the first quarter before the Fire pegged them back and Batkovic said it was vital they reproduced that second half effort against Melbourne.

“That’s the big question – how do we convert that to be for 40 minutes? We’re trying, it’s just taking time.

“I always say we’re like a jigsaw puzzle and we’re trying to find where all the pieces fit so at the moment they’re a little bit all over the shop and they haven’t quite connected.

“I think specifically with Perth in the first quarter, they really pushed us out of what we wanted to do. They were pressuring everybody, and I feel like we just stumbled.

“We’ve just got to make sure we stay composed.

“We’ve got fantastic players and I know what they can do and they know what they’re capable of.”

Melbourne’s form has also been patchy so far this season and Batkovic said both teams would be determined to make a statement in the grand final rematch.

“It’s going to be a cracker of a game. We’re at home and we’ve got to make sure that we do our job,” she said.

Sunday’s tip- off at Townsville Stadium is 3pm.