A bumper crowd is once again expected at Nissan Arena for the latest instalment in this intrastate battle, with the Queensland Cup once again on the line.
The Lightning head down the Bruce Highway sitting third on the competition ladder with five wins and three losses after a seven-point win over the Melbourne Mavericks last weekend.
The Firebirds meanwhile went down 82-65 in a high-scoring shootout against the West Coast Fever in Perth last Sunday.
LAST TIME WE MET
With former Firebird Mahalia Cassidy and Queensland pathways product Cara Koenen both celebrating their 100-game milestones, the Lightning were too good on home soil for the Firebirds as they claimed a dominant 64-50 win in the third round of the SSN season in April.
The 14-point loss was a tough one for the Firebirds but co-captain Ruby Bakewell-Doran shone in defence, claiming a whopping nine gains and two intercepts, while fellow leader Hulita Veve also performed strongly against Australian Diamonds captain Liz Watson finishing the match with 11 goal assists and a gain.
TEAM NEWS
Abigail Latu-Meafou remains in the squad for the Firebirds in the ongoing absence of injured Tippah Dwan (knee) while there was a successful return from concussion for English international Imogen Allison in last weekend's trip to Perth.
The Lightning have a near full-strength squad to pick from with Kristiana Manu'a performing strongly as a replacement player for the sidelined Ava Black, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury during the pre-season. Cara Koenen appears have to shaken off a foot injury that restricted her minutes in recent weeks, taking the court for almost the entire game in the seven-goal triumph over the Mavericks at UniSC Arena last weekend.
KEY MATCHUP - Mary Cholhok vs Courtney Bruce
Cholhok's confidence as part of the Firebirds line-up has been growing in recent weeks as the Ugandan shooter acclimatises to her new surroundings and teammates after a delayed arrival before the season.
The 201cm shooter recorded 39 goals from 44 attempts against the Fever last Sunday in her 50 minutes on the court, often showcasing her signature layup.
Cholhok will need to bring all over her skills and physicality against Australian Diamond Courtney Bruce, who'll be eager to make her 150th National League appearance a memorable one in what looms as a mouth-watering one-on-one clash.
KEY STAT
The Firebirds will be desperate to get one over their state rivals in a contest that has been one-way traffic for too long as far as they're concerned, with the Lightning having won the past six match--ups between these clubs.
LAST WORD
"Obviously Round 3 didn't go the way that we wanted it to go. We've been looking at what went wrong, what we can do better, and looking at how we've been improving over the course of the following games. We really want to put out a good performance against Lightning this week." - Firebirds defender ISABELLE SHEARER.
HOW TO GET THERE
All the information regarding game day is available here. For fans residing in Australia, you can watch Sunday’s game via Foxtel, Kayo Sports or Binge. Meanwhile, international viewers can watch the game via Netball pass.
