Hyundai Queensland State League – Round Nine
Bundaberg Spirit v Sunshine Coast Fire
Kane Frampton – Staff Reporter
The Sunshine Coast Fire will be looking for an emphatic response to last week’s showing when the side heads north to Bundaberg to take on the Spirit on Saturday night.
With the Fire scraping a fortuitous draw against the Whitsunday Miners at home last week, all thoughts will be focussed on making amends with a positive performance in Bundaberg – and after last week facing a serious scare from the seventh-placed Miners, the Sunshine Coast will not be taking the Spirit lightly.
Bundaberg climbed from the foot of the QSL ladder last week with a 3-2 away victory over the Capricorn Cougars, the Spirit’s first win of the season. The side has been competitive for much of the season despite being weakened by injuries in the past few weeks, including an injury to captain Brett Kitching
Although the recent history between the two sides is dominated by the Fire, Bundaberg did manage a 3-3 draw with the Sunshine Coast in Round 14 of last year, and always put up a tough fight on their home patch.
The fixture will be the Sunshine Coast’s last away match for six weeks, with home matches against Brisbane, North Queensland, QAS and FNQ to follow, and the Fire will be looking to bring back nothing less than three points from Bundaberg.
The Round 9 clash will kick off at Across the Waves Sportsgrounds in Bundaberg at 7pm on Saturday evening.
Both of the Fire youth teams are also in action this weekend, with the Under-19s facing their Bundaberg Spirit counterparts. The Spirit are fresh off a 3-1 victory over the Gympie Fire last week, although the Fire are in top form after notching their sixth straight win with a 5-1 win over the SC Zone 16s on the weekend. The Fire remain undefeated this season, and will be confident of hanging on to that mantle for at least another week.
The Gympie Fire will make the long trip to Toowoomba on Saturday, to face the South West Queensland 19s. The young Fire side will be eager to turn their competitive performances into a victory, as the side continues to chase their first win of the season.
The Gympie Fire match will kick-off at 3pm on Saturday in Toowoomba, while the Sunshine Coast Under-19s game will kick off before the seniors game, at 5pm on Saturday at Across the Waves Sportsgrounds.
