Game preview: Hawks @ Cairns Taipans | RD8 NBL27

The road run rolls on, Hawkheads.

After a gutsy win in Perth, we head to Cairns Convention Centre on Thursday night with four games still to play away from home. We are 3-8 and the ladder is what it is, but this group is locked in. We have won two of our last three on the road, taking down Melbourne United and then Perth, and the belief is building.

There is a big night off the court too. Assistant coach Matt Flinn will reach his 500th game in Hawks colours, counting his games as a player and a coach.

The man who got Flinn into basketball, former Hawks Captain and Coach Gordie McLeod, who now lives in Cairns, will be in the stands to watch.

Justin Tatum says the trust is showing up in how the team plays.

“Guys really got on the trust train, they start trusting each other more and figuring stuff out,” he said after Perth.

Now we take it to a Taipans side that beat us 110-100 at WIN Entertainment Centre last time. We have a score to settle.

The matchup

Season series: Cairns lead 1-0 after the Round 4 game at the Sandpit on Sunday 11 October.

• Cairns hit 18 threes from 38 attempts. We made 11.
• We won the offensive glass 13 to 3.
• We dragged a 17-point deficit back to four in the final term before the Taipans held us off.
• Jack McVeigh scored 32 on 12 of 17 shooting, including five threes.
• Sam Froling posted 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Makur Maker scored 18 on 6 of 7 shooting.

We meet again at WIN Entertainment Centre on Saturday 2 January.

Scouting the Taipans

Cairns are fifth at 6-5 and 3-1 at home, but they come in off a 97-113 loss to Melbourne United.

Three threats to watch:

• Jack McVeigh: the Taipans’ leading scorer at 17.8 points a game, dangerous from deep, and he made five threes against us in Round 4. His 32 that day is his season high.
• Keanu Pinder: a physical presence averaging 14.5 points, who scored 19 against us last time.
• Jonah Bolden: a former Hawk coming off the bench at 9.7 points and 8.6 rebounds a game. He scored 20 in Round 4.

That front line combined for 71 of Cairns’ 110 points last time, so the paint is where this game will be decided.

Keys to victory

Keep the ball moving.
We had 25 assists in Perth, and Davo Hickey finished with eight assists and eight rebounds. We average 21.4 assists a game, third in the league. Move it, trust each other and find the open man.

Perimeter lockdown.
Eighteen threes was the difference last time. Opponents are shooting 50.0 per cent against us this season, and that has to come a down a lot in Cairns.

Own the glass.
Cairns average 9.1 offensive rebounds, the fewest in the league, and we beat them 13 to 3 in Round 4.

“We took a real step forward today by making sure we box out and pursue the rebounds” Tatum said after Perth.

Keep that going.

Make them pay at the line.
The Taipans foul 20.6 times a game, the most in the league. We got to the line 20 times in Round 4, and we need to get there again.

Tatum is honest about where we are.

“We’re just trying to climb our way up the ladder as much as we can,” he said.

We are fourth in the league in scoring at 96.1 points a game, and when the ball moves, we are dangerous.

Then home to the Sandpit

The road run finishes in Perth on Saturday 14 November, then we are back at WIN Entertainment Centre on Thursday 19 November for Indigenous Round against Adelaide. If you want to be courtside and part of the action.

• Hollywood seats
• Tickets from $30
• Family is just $99
• Flexi 3 or 5

Game details

• Who: Illawarra Hawks at Cairns Taipans
• When: Thursday 5 November 2026, 7:30pm AEDT
• Where: Cairns Convention Centre
• Watch: If you can’t make the game, tune in on ESPN Disney+
• Watch party: The Illawarra Hotel

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