Tigers look to bounce back against Wildfire

It was a tough game last weekend against St George, which saw the Tigers five-game win streak come to an end in ugly fashion.

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The Saints got out to a quick start, with the Tigers having to play from behind from the word go.

There were times where the team almost managed to come back, bur the Saints ended up running away with the game 87-100.

It was the first time in a good while that the Tigers looked out of sorts, but on a positive note, they knew where they let themselves down and will look to correct it this weekend.

"We underestimated the team last week and we definitely aren't going to do that again," Tigers forward Kyle Leslie said.

Leslie acknowledged that it all starts with their team defence which wasn't up to scratch last week.

"Discipline on defense with our rotations into help lines," he said.

"We have to step up our communication which makes those rotations so much easier."

"Rebounding and boxing out, not letting those guys get offensive boards, and free throws."

Leslie noted the teams free throw shooting, which has been inconsistent for most of the year, as an area the team really needs to hit their strides in.

"Capitalising on those will make everything easier and help us beat teams in close games down the stretch," he said.

In their last match-up against the Wildifre, the Tigers shook off a shaky first-half to dominate the rest of the way on route to a 81-70 win.

It should be a game the Tigers take, but as Leslie said, they can't afford to take any opponent for granted, especially with the Wildfire playing with a bit of a momentum off of two straight victories.

Shifty guard Pranaya Sakya leads the way for the Wildfire to a tune of 19 points per game.

His most recent outing a 37 point bomb against the Springwood Scorchers.

Sakya should be the absolute focus of the Tigers defense, as he quite often has to carry his team's offensive load with not a lot of outside shooting around him.

For the Tigers to be the best version of themselves, it starts from hard-nosed defense fueling their transition game.

Anyone who has watched the Tigers this season will testify to how much their offense flows when the side consistently gets stops.

If they can make the Wildfire uncomfortable early, then it should be a match the side takes reasonably easily.

That game will tip off at Mt Annan Leisure Centre at 1pm.

Let's go Tigers!