19/06/2026
🔥Heat and Flames keen to cut down fierce rivals Cairns 🔥
Townsville will host ladder-leading Cairns in an NBL1 North double-header on Friday night, with the Heat and Flames aiming to upset the undefeated Marlins and Dolphins.
Both Cairns teams are a perfect 9-0 to start their NBL1 North campaigns and have already beaten Townsville twice this season.
The sixth-placed Flames slipped to 6-4 after a loss to North Gold Coast Seahawks last round, but skipper Harriet Carey is confident her side can give the high-flying Dolphins a real scare at The Furnace this weekend.
“We're definitely familiar with how they play and as a team we have watched a lot of film and done a lot of study on them,” she said.
“This time around we know a bit more about how their systems work and how we can defend them better, so hopefully we can get a better result.
“In our prior games against them this season we were sort of punched in the face in the first quarter. They came out really hard, they're a high-pressure team, so for us it’s about being able to adapt to that and get a bit better at handling their pressure.”
Carey said the Dolphins presented a significant challenge but believed a strong home crowd could help lift the Flames.
“They've got a really great guard in Mia Lloyd, and a great centre in LJ Williams, and they're a very fast team, so we need to adapt to their play style,” she said.
“We all love playing at home, our fans are great and we’re very excited to hopefully bring them a win this weekend.”
The Heat head into their clash with a talent-laden Marlins side off the back of a narrow three-point loss last round, with import forward Nathaniel Pollard Jr believing greater consistency will be key to causing an upset.
“Our focus needs to be playing together and sharing the basketball,” the American import said.
“In our last game we had some stagnant plays and we were turning the ball over a little bit and had a lot of defensive lapses.
“We can't do that against a good team like this.”
The 3-7 Heat will need a strong finish to the season to force their way into the playoff picture, and Pollard Jr said the group must stay focused in every training session and game from here on out.
“We need to be really dialled in at practice and have great attention to detail if we want to make a run for the playoffs,” he said.
“I've always been in a leadership position on teams and wherever I go I'm going to try to make the team better as much as I can with my knowledge.
“My teammates can teach me things, I can teach them things and we just want to feed off each other to be the best team we can be.”
The Flames take on the Dolphins at 6.30pm on Friday before the Heat face the Marlins at 8.30pm.
🎟 Only 70 tickets left for this top of the NBL1 North clash, these tickets are available via this link until 4:00pm today: www.intix.com.au/org/townsville-basketball
Any remaining tickets will be available to purchase at the door.
🚪Doors open at 5:45pm.
