Captain has high hopes for Thunder

The Thunder women are ready to rumble.

Last season was cancelled partway through due to Covid.

The Thunder went winless the previous season.

And the year before that, the Dunedin women were part of the Southern team that split into two friendly but warring camps — the Dunedin Thunder and the Wakatipu Wild — in 2020.

That rivalry will have to wait until halfway through next month.

The Thunder hosts the Auckland Steel in back-to-back games in Dunedin this weekend, and captain Abby Heale is keen for her side to make a positive start.

The 21-year-old forward said the Dunedin team had prepared well and was still nursing some good feelings from beating the Steel last year before the season was terminated.

"My expectations are quite high," she said.

"I don’t think we’ve had this many numbers ever before. We had maybe 30 people trial, which is a lot for us.

"We are able to pick and choose kind of thing, and my coach [Angelique Mawson] was pretty excited to see that there was competition."

The Thunder is still a developing team in many respects. Its first year in the league was tough going. There were a couple of heavy defeats, which Heale put down to growing pains.

The Thunder was crushed 8-0 by Wakatipu in the opening game last year, but beat Auckland 5-3 to register its maiden win in the league.

"We were very excited about that win because obviously the season before didn’t turn out too well."

The Thunder will lean on Heale and her sister, Caitlin, to generate some opportunities.

Caitlin is a skilled forward who blends physicality with creativity. Her main role is to get the puck in the goal.

Heale is a playmaker and self-described "workhorse".

"I’ll do the hard, grubby stuff that not a lot of people like to do."

Hannah Cross will lead the defensive effort, while Rebecca Lilly will take on the enforcer’s role. She is only available for the opening round of games.

Heale expects the competition to be tight this season.

"There will always be some rivalry with Wakatipu because we are all mates, but there is also the North versus South thing with Auckland, and Canterbury won last season, so there is plenty to play for."

The format is nice and simple. All four teams play each other twice. At the end of pool play, the top-ranked team will play the lowest-ranked side in one semifinal, and the other two will contest the second semifinal.

Both semifinals will be played in Dunedin on September 24. The final is also in the city and will be played the following day.