Fire fitter than ever ahead of new year

THERE are already the makings of the most formidable Townsville Fire outfit assembled under Shannon Seebohm’s tutelage. That is the opinion of the coach himself, who has never seen his team in such great shape during his three years in the North.

Coming off a strong return to the top of the WNBL pecking order, bouncing back from a wooden spoon campaign to make last year’s grand final, the Fire has set about rectifying the heartache felt at the hands of the Southside Flyers.

Seebohm said across all fitness and strength testing undertaken the average scores across the board had never been higher.

“This is my third season here and I’d say this is the best shape we’ve been in coming into a pre-season so far,” Seebohm said.

“The players know each other, they know what I expect and they’ve been able to get through a lot of content quite quickly.”

For the likes of Nadeen Payne, much of that fitness uptake has come by seemingly refusing to give herself a break.

The 28-year-old rested for just two weeks, entering NBL1 North preparations after the WNBL season came to a close.

Payne became an integral member of the Fire squad, finishing with 8.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists a game.

Now with the Hutchinson Builders Centre at their disposal, Payne said the tools were at the club’s disposal to go one better.

“If you’re not here to win a championship you’re in the wrong place,” she said. “It’s an amazing facility, I love being here. I walked in and was like ‘wow, this is what it’s like to be a professional athlete’.

“I think everyone has put themselves in a good position already going into pre-season so I’m really excited, it’s good to be back.”