The 'Sunshine Swing' is the affectionate name given to the road trip where clubs have to tackle both Cairns and Townsville in the same weekend.

Doing the Sunshine Swing is supposed to give opposing teams a sense of fear as they have to battle hostile crowds and extremely tough opposition on two occasions before heading home for Mum’s Sunday roast.

It’s supposed to be as revered as the old ‘doomsday double’ which involved tackling Adelaide and Perth, with only one sleep in between - where in 15 years only two clubs managed to pull off the double win.

With Townsville coming off a playoff berth last season and Cairns almost winning the whole thing the year before, this is supposed to be the toughest year ever to embark on the Sunny Swing!

Throw in the fact that Cairns have recruited superbly in the off season and Townsville snapped up a former MVP point guard and one would think the thought of the Sunny Swing would give opposition players soiled Reg Grundies!

Well the reality is we’ve only played six rounds and Wollongong, Sydney and now New Zealand have all come and conquered both legs of the Swing, and all three clubs barely battered an eyelid.

Coaches Paul Woolpert and Aaron Fearne have both got their fair share of issues right now and let’s hope the latter can apply the band aids quicker.

Cairns face ladder leader Wollongong on Saturday night and to say they need a win is an understatement. After six rounds we are on three wins from seven starts and have already dropped three at home (already one more than team pre-season rules).

A few more losses and we could be in the same position as our local foe – DONE for 2012/13.

Possible moves the franchise could make is sending import Shane Edwards home and getting an import Centre. This is no disrespect to his game but the Taipans seem to be getting pushed around by bigger bodies and are always being out-rebounded.

Snap up a seven-foot beast on the boards and this season could be turned around in a heartbeat. Easier said than done however. There’s a guy called Ivan McFarlane playing for Bendigo in Vic who grabs rebounds in his sleep who wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg to bring in. Food for thought...

Round 7 (home team first)
Friday
Wildcats vs 36ers – Perth by 12
Breakers vs Crocs – NZ by 35

Saturday
Gong vs Taipans – Cairns by 2 (this is the one that will turn this season around!)

Sunday
Tigers vs Kings – Tigers by 5

Go Snakes!