Worthing Thunder host the second annual Thunder Cup this weekend.

Thunder, Guildford Heat, London Leopards and Irish side Killester are all involved in the pre-season tournament at Worthing Leisure Centre.

Guildford face London in the first semi-final (1400 BST), while Killester tip-off against Thunder at 1530 BST.

Thunder head coach Dave Titmuss told BBC Sussex: "We are looking forward to it - the early season stuff is about us rather than the opponent."

Thunder forwards Janis Ivanovskis and Sam Cricelli both have back injuries. Ivanovskis could be out for some time, but Brighton-born Cricelli could still feature this weekend.

"We have some injury concerns and I think we'll go into the start of the season with one or two key people out, but it's about how we operate as a squad rather than just individuals," Titmuss said.

Guildford Heat coach Chad McKnight, meanwhile, is preparing for his first competitive game as player-coach.

He replaced Paul James in the summer as the club cut costs after entering administration.

"I'm not nervous; I know the guys I've picked to play for the team," he said.

"It's just a case of one or two things clicking into place. We play a lot in training, so it's just a case of players learning their positions.

"We definitely want to come away with the Thunder Cup. It's something that the team haven't done in the past four seasons.

"We've had friendlies and things like that, but never went to a four-team tournament. So we really want to go down there and win it all."

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