Connie Francis, coach of the Manchester Spurs, is banking on her attacking team to bring home a win when they challenge St Catherine Racers in the opening game of today’s double-header in Netball Jamaica’s Berger Elite League, at the Leila Robinson Courts, National Stadium complex beginning at 6:00 pm.

In the feature match, defending champions St Ann Orchids will take on Kingston Hummingbirds at 7:30 pm.

Francis is an iconic Jamaican netballer who has coached the senior national team, which she once led in the shooting arc. It is in this critical area she believes Manchester’s hopes rest, with Giselle Allison, Anna Kay Griffiths and Nicole Dixon on call.

“I give our team a chance to put on a good show. I think we have a very good attack in our starting team,” Francis commented on the eve of the match. “The expectations from that shooting team is really, really high.”

Continuing, she said: “The versatility in the team is tremendous and I expect my defenders to hold strong, but most of all I expect my shooters to really pull it off.”

She placed some emphasis on recent Fast5 silver medal winner Allison, noting that “she’s a very, very talented player”.

Khadijah Williams and Mellisa Wright, one of last year’s standout players, will strengthen the Spurs’ charge.

The Racers themselves are not short on potential and will rely mainly on national defender Jodiann Ward, Nardia Hanson, Jamillah Tulloch and Antoinette Stone.

Their assistant coach Natacia Nembhard noted that their team has changed significantly from last year, with only two members from that squad remaining.

Despite that, she thinks they will do well in this fourth edition of the league that caters to the country’s best players.

As they are only just coming together, Nembhard says they will be looking at combinations that will suit their overall challenge.

“Tomorrow’s game is basically to see the group of players we selected and to analyse and look at different combinations; this is a different group of players,” said Nembhard.

“St Catherine Racers is a team that always performs and I’m certain we’ll do our best and get into the final this season,” she added.

In the feature contest, the Orchids will chase win number two after blowing out Clarendon Gaters 58-34 on Saturday’s opening day.

The Gaters were short-handed without main shooters Shedeiky Hamilton-Barnes and Shadian Hemmings and trailed 5-13, 15-26, 23-37 through the first three quarters.

That is when the Orchids’ Thristina Harwood went haywire, sinking 17 out of 18 fourth-quarter tries in her game-high 38 points from 49 tries. Rebekah Robinson supported with 14 from 22. For Clarendon Gaters, centre court national Zonasha Hinds was moved to goal attack after the first quarter and scored 18 from 28. Goal shooter Mischka Creary supported with 14 from 22 tries, while Kay-Ann Cousins sunk two of three in the opening quarter.

Marvette Anderson’s Hummingbirds are expected to provide a stiffer challenge, with the likes of Shanice Beckford, Paula Thompson, Hasana Williams, Sasha-Lee Wallen and Sabrina Spence in their line-up.