It’s a huge opening home game for Newcastle Eagles at the Vertu Motors Arena tonight. Into town come local rivals Durham Palatinates for a derby clash in the Super League Basketball Betty Cordona Trophy group game.

The Eagles lost last weekend up against Caledonia Gladiators 69 – 53 in their opening group game and will desperately be looking to bounce back from that defeat and not go 0 – 2 so early in the campaign.

For the Palatinates it’s their first competitive action of the season with a roster that intriguingly includes ex-Eagles captain Marina Fernandez along with one or two new faces.

Eagles co-captain Chloe Gaynor started her preview of the game by looking back at last weekend’s defeat, what her side could take from that and what they need to change going forward.

“I think it was a frustrating game and one we can pull a lot of constructive criticism from. You need those games at the start of the season to get to know each other. Stats sheets don’t lie and it told you the story of the game but there were some positives in that.”

“When you look at how we got to the free throw line, some of the offence that we did have in terms of getting out in transition. Abby (Lowe) rebounding really well offensively and we definitely improved the defence from the pre-season game against Sheffield.”

“So, I do think there was stuff we can build from but you do have to look at what didn’t go quite so well and reflect on that and build from that hopefully this week.”

The Palatinates are a totally different side to Caledonia and present a different set of challenges for Gaynor and her teammates to face as Gaynor explained.

“Durham are always a strong and solid team. They’ve got a group of girls that have been together for quite a while now and Lee Davie is a good coach. They’ve added Marina (Fernandez) and a couple of new additions so I think they’ll come ready.”

“It’s a local Derby so everyone gets up for that and they love playing against us. We love the atmosphere that it brings. They like to put a press on and get everyone on the back foot and they have a solid inside game with Harriet (Ottewill-Soulsby).”

“They have other tough guards that like to play inside too. I’m expecting a physical game and an up and down game that will be fun to watch.”

Obviously no preview of the game would be complete without talking about Fernandez who had three seasons at Newcastle hitting double-digit scoring in all of those seasons.

“Marina is one of my best friends so it’s going to be strange playing against her. When you’ve been playing with someone for three years it’s not nice to see them on the other side. But I’m glad she’s found herself in a good situation and is happy.”

“It’s going to be weird for her walking in here as opposition and it’s going to be weird for us as well not seeing her in black and white. I hope she has a good game but not too good of a game!”

Gaynor then outlined what the loyal Eagles fans can expect to see from the new-look Eagles roster.

“We want to play an exciting brand of basketball. We have our system and each player brings different skills and there’s plenty of players on this roster to be excited about. We look solid defensively and when we get used to each other we’ll get out and run.”

“We have the IQ to make the right reads to do that and by the end of the season we’ll be a team up there competing at the top of the league.”

Tip-off in the Vertu Motors Arena tonight is at 7:30pm for a much anticipated opening home fixture for the 2024/25 season.

Tickets are available on the box office in advance or on the door.