The 27-year-old, who was a member of the Thunderbirds squad in 2018, will line up against her old club as an injury replacement for Tippah Dwan who will miss the game due a knee complaint.
A solid replacement with plenty of experience at SSN level, Latu-Meafou caught the eye during the Team Girls Cup in Adelaide, appearing in all four of the Firebirds’ matches at the pre-season competition.
Saturday’s visit by the Thunderbirds looms is a special affair for multiple reasons, with defender Ruby Bakewell-Doran set to reach to her 50-game milestone while former Firebirds including members of the 2015 premiership-winning team will be attending as part of the annual past players event.
The Firebirds are looking to bounce back from last weekend’s eight-goal loss to the NSW Swifts in Sydney, while the Thunderbirds are also chasing a win after a shock loss to GIANTS Netball at Ken Rosewall Arena.
LAST TIME WE MET
The Firebirds completed one of the upsets of the season last year with a 10-point win over the Thunderbirds at Nissan Arena in June.
Ruby Bakewell-Doran put in a player of the match display in defence as the Firebirds snapped a five-game losing run with a 52-42 win in front of a bumper 4500 crowd.
The game was also memorable for Gold Coast product Jess Milne who came off the bench in the final quarter to make her SSN debut and become Firebird No.111.
TEAM NEWS
Abigail Latu-Meafou comes in for Tippah Dwan (knee). The New Zealand-born shooter debuted for the Firebirds in 2017 before a stint at the Thunderbirds in 2018, then making four appearances for the Firebirds in 2019 as well as featuring for the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic from 2019-20 in New Zealand’s ANZ Premiership.
Catching the eye at the Team Girls Cup in Adelaide, Latu-Meafou has recovered from a serious knee injury last year to get back to the game’s summit and is a current Queensland Firebirds training partner as well as part of the leadership group with the Firebirds Futures in Super Netball Reserves.
The Thunderbirds meanwhile travel north with South African youngster Sanmarie Visser after she made her SSN debut last weekend as a temporary replacement player for superstar defender Shamera Sterling-Humphrey, with the Jamaican to sit out the remainder of the season after announcing her first pregnancy.
KEY MATCHUP – Hulita Veve vs Georgie Horjus
Despite a disappointing loss to the previously winless Giants in Sydney last Saturday, Diamonds international Georgie Horjus was a standout for the Thunderbirds.
The reigning SSN player of the year picked up 98.5 Nissan Net Points, recording 16 goal assists, 35 feeds, two gains and two deflections.
The Firebirds will be hoping Tonga captain Veve can lockdown Horjus and keep her influence to a minimum in the Thunderbirds’ attacking end.
KEY STAT
The Firebirds have won four of the past five meetings against Adelaide in Brisbane including the 52-42 victory last season.
LAST WORD
"We want to do it for her. We know she does it for us every game so, nothing changes." - Firebirds defender ISABELLE SHEARER on the team’s motivation to ensure Ruby Bakewell-Doran’s 50 game milestone is a memorable one.
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.
