ANDREW ALOIA  |  July 22nd, 2011| The Townsville Bulletin

AT the end of every practice court argument, Jill Haughton smiles with satisfaction.

It's not because she has won the latest spat, it's knowing that whoever Townsville meets next is going to cop the backlash.

Even now that the Flames' women's QBL finals aspirations are buried, the urgency in practice hasn't cooled in the slightest ahead of tonight's meeting with Cairns at QN Stadium.

Haughton said the team is just too headstrong to accept being the doormat for a Dolphins side still contesting a top-three finish.

For as long as co-captain Letitia and her younger sister Kayla are butting heads in training, Haughton warns that the Flames pack enough punch to be feared.

"We have some pretty stubborn girls that just can't accept losing," Haughton said.

"We have sisters on the team so they, of course, fight constantly and we have really good friends on the team that are not afraid to give it to each other.

"It's helped the last couple of weeks to improve us ... no one has held back."

From irritating one another, the Flames now intend to make a nuisance of themselves in the QBL finals equations of others.

"We can't make finals, our job now is to show how tough we are, that we don't give up, and that we will fight to upset the rest," Haughton said.

"Everything about being a North Queenslander and Townsvillian is about being tough."

The Cairns side, which has climbed to third on the table, has this week taken a hit with Juliana Paunovic returning to the US for college and centre Cayla Francis suiting up for the Australian Opals on Sunday.

Still, Haughton is wary of any side led by her idol and former Townsville Fire WNBL captain Rohanee Cox.

"Roe has always had the ability to bring teams to a different level ... she is a threat player," she said.