THE Taipans are champing at the bit to break the pre-season monotony with a practice match but will not be content to just run up and down the court.

The Snakes will hit the court in Sunday’s opening pre-season match against their great rivals Townsville gunning for a win.

While they will integrate several new players into the team for the first time, the Taipans will not be at full-strength, with Phill Jones (New Zealand) and Ian Crosswhite (quad injury) out of action.

And in a blow for fans, import forward Arizona Reid is also likely to be ruled out after picking up a hip flexor injury earlier this week.

But coach Aaron Fearne is not about to concede to his north Queensland rival.

‘‘You play to win,’’ Fearne said. ‘‘I don’t care if you’re playing under-12 or under-14 local competition or C grade men, you want to win.’’

But it will not be a case of victory at all costs.

"We want to develop a winning culture and we want to win,’’ he said.

‘‘But understanding that, we’ll play guys for different minutes and try different things. But we want to go and play hard and play to win and go out there and work on the things we’ve been talking about.’’

Fearne said Reid was only a ‘‘50-50’’ proposition.

‘‘And if it’s like that, it’s probably not going to happen,’’ he said.

‘‘He’s super eager to play, but it’s unlikely.’’

Crosswhite’s workload has increased this week after he was unable to do any legwork at all in the days after the quad strain but he too will miss the match.

‘‘He’ll be back in about a week. And Phill (Jones) is in Turkey (at the world championships) and playing very well,’’ Fearne said.

While some players are missing, fans will still get the opportunity to see new Taipans Ayinde Ubaka, Alex Loughton and Daniel Dillon in action.

Sunday’s match tips off at 4pm at the Bendigo Bank Basketball Centre.