The Queensland Firebirds have proved they are in excellent form going into 2011, beating their New Zealand and ANZ Championship rivals, the Haier Pulse 50-46 in the Grand Final of the pre-season tournament held in Queenstown, New Zealand over the weekend.
Although the Firebirds have yet to qualify for the play-offs in the past three seasons where they finished one win short of the top four, they are confident of a finals breakthrough, looking to the imminent return of Jamaican powerhouse Romelda Aiken.
Aiken, whose preseason preparations have been less than ideal after being hampered by visa dramas, will be reunited with her Firebirds team-mates on Friday after gaining a late renewal of her visa. Queensland, who have the first round bye, will now have more than a fortnight with their goal shooter to prepare for their opening match against NSW Swifts on February 21.
The Firebirds are not the only team who has experienced visa difficulties in their pre-season lead up. The Adelaide Thunderbirds have also been left without their goal-scoring import Carla Borrego, who is still back in Jamaica waiting for immigration papers, with the club unsure when she will arrive.
Thunderbirds coach Jane Woodlands-Thompson has acknowledged that the situation is not ideal but it's not hampering her team's ability to be competitive.
"Everyone's had a disrupted pre season with international overlapping commitments and of course without Carla ... but we've managed to graft out a fantastic game plan without her at the moment" she said.
The Thunderbirds are set to face NSW rivals The Swifts then the ANZ championship kicks off round one on Sunday February 13 at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre.
For ticketing and fixture information check out www.anz-championship.com