Fever’s test of character

West Coast Fever coach Stacey Rosman is expecting a good response from her players when they take on the Adelaide Thunderbirds in Adelaide on Sunday.

Consecutive losses have dropped Fever to second in the Australian conference and they could lose their chance to host a home final if they can’t arrest their slide in their final two games of the regular season.

Thunderbirds are on the bottom of the Australian conference with just three wins but still boast a talented line-up.

Adelaide defender Eboni Beckford-Chambers, who was the West Coast club champion the past two years, will make her 50th ANZ Championship appearance.

Rosman said the review of their loss to Melbourne last weekend had shown their work rate was down. But she was buoyed by the way her team had attacked training this week.

“They had a great session on Tuesday, just looked sharp,” Rosman said. “It built a lot of confidence from where I’m sitting with the way they came in with the attitude towards training. They so desperately want to get back on track.

“It would have been a lot harder to go into this game if they’d come in saying ‘woe is me and I don’t know how to fix this’ and stressing and over analysing, but they’ve really just opened their minds to instruction.”

Rosman said it was a test of character to see how they would bounce back.

“I would be surprised if we went out with another performance like we did against Vixens,” she said.

“We can work harder than what we did. We came off the bye so it’s mental, not physical.”

Thunderbirds coach Jane Woodlands-Thompson will step down at the end of the season and Rosman said her opposite number would ask for a big effort.

“They’ll be really hunting for a win,” Rosman said. “They will see us as being vulnerable.”

Queensland Firebirds are unlikely to drop a game in the final two rounds, meaning Fever are now aiming to retain second spot. Rosman knows it’s vital they find form before their maiden finals appearance.

“For us it’s getting back form and making sure we are going into finals in the right headspace,” she said.

“It makes a big difference if you can host a final.”