Canberra Capitals coach Paul Goriss wants Thursday's Australia Day clash against the Sydney Flames to become a tradition to pay homage to the award recipients on the day.
And while he wants history to start repeating in one sense, he wants to ensure it doesn't in another.
![Capitals coach Paul Goriss wants the Capitals' Australia Day fixture to become permanent.](/web/20170125081716im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/t/6/p/m/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtxhpt.png/1485323785291.jpg)
The Capitals' confrontation with the Sydney Flames at Tuggeranong on Thursday has some similarities with their last encounter.
Canberra comes in once again on a three-game winning streak against the Flames and Goriss wants to ensure they don't get burned this time, because that's what happened in December.
![Capitals forward Keely Froling knows how important their clash with second-placed Sydney is in a tight season.](/web/20170125081716im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/r/k/6/x/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtxhpt.png/1485323785291.jpg)
That 11-point loss at home still grates Goriss and he's drummed into his young team not to let a repeat occur.
"We're 2-1 with Sydney and we beat them twice at their home and they beat us once at our home so it's really important now to get that split on them because it's really tight leading into the finals," he said.
"There's still that bitter taste in our mouth about how we played and the margin of how that game panned out last time in Canberra.
"The last time we [had won three in a row] was when Sydney came in and gave us a beating ... it's a big issue with us that we can't take our foot off the pedal.
"We're in that same predicament this time around, we're 3-0 leading into a very important game that we can't take any team lightly and we can't think our home record is going to be enough to get us over the line."
But he would like to see the Capitals playing home games on Australia Day become a permanent fixture on the WNBL calendar.
"It's something different, something midweek and we've had to adjust our schedule this week in regards to practice and recovery and those things, but hopefully we'll get another great crowd with a lot of noise that will help us get over the line again," Goriss said.
"Hopefully they'll be rowdy and supporting us. I think it might be a great tradition for us to set up and just acknowledge what the Australia Day recipients are about."
If revenge wasn't a big enough motivator for the resurgent Capitals, then the enormity of the game should be.
Canberra sits in fifth on the WNBL ladder, but are just three wins behind second-placed Sydney.
A win will not only bring them within touching distance of the Flames, but also bolster their chances in a super-tight dash to make the top four and play finals.
Capitals forward Keely Froling said the magnitude of the game was something the playing group had talked about.
She was hoping for a repeat of the boisterous crowd on the weekend, which she said helped Canberra run away from the Bendigo Spirit in the fourth quarter.
Froling was hoping they could be even louder given the game's being played on Australia Day.
"We're not going to take the foot off the pedal, we want to win as many as we can to make the finals," she said.
"Any game you drop now, it's so close on the ladder and there's only two games between second and sixth so we need to win as many games as possible."
WNBL ROUND 16
Thursday: Canberra Capitals v Sydney Flames at Tuggeranong, 3pm.