Sunshine Conference tips off tomorrow with the Lismore Storm taking on the Byron Bay Beez the Lismore Basketball Stadium in what will be a rematch of last season’s Grand Final.

Both teams have had a number of preseason games and are eager to get the season underway.

Lismore have been hard at training for a number of months now and have regularly had 16 plus men attending training. This is something that has pleased coach Nathan Darby,.

“Having so many people turn up to training is great. It shows that we’ve got plenty of people keen and interested in playing for the Storm. It also means we’ve got plenty of guys battling for minutes on the court, that means hard decisions for me as a coach but it brings out the best in the team because they’re always having to compete.”

It should be an interesting game for both sides as there have been a few changes to last season's lineups. Lismore have brought in a few younger players from the junior system and word is that Byron have a number of young players entering their ranks as well. This is a pleasing sign for the competition as the goal of the Sunshine Conference is ultimately to give younger players a step up in competition and a chance to develop.

Coach Darby is expecting a physical matchup against the Beez.

“These games tend to get physical and we need to be ready for that. Winning last season means we have a target on our back so teams are going to come out hard, Byron especially because they are a physically big team.”

The Storm also have to deal with a couple of key players being away for the first game of the season and will need to rely on their depth to come away with a victory.

“Losing our captain, point guard Ben Wilton and a back up point guard Paolo Galea is tough but we’ve got enough guys in our squad to cover for them. New recruits Ryan Swift and Jordy Pethers will shoulder more responsibility with the ball but we’ll also be expecting a big game on the boards from Zac Knight, Dylan Moss and Maddox Parsons.”

Game tips off at 6pm at the Lismore Basketball Stadium, Keen St, East Lismore.

Lismore Storm:  Jacob Leu, Nathan Darby, Dylan Moss, Zac Knight. Maddox Parsons, Scott Amor, Sam Mitchell, Ryan Swift, Jordy Pethers, Jasper Hedges-Makings