Game Preview: Hawks @ S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | RD3 NBL27

The monkey is off the back. Now we go chasing the next one.

Five days after the noise outside the building got loud, we answered it the only way that counts. We beat the Adelaide 36ers 114-92 at the WIN Entertainment Centre, led for 37 minutes and 47 seconds and pushed the lead out to 32 against one of the championship favourites. "Bit of the monkey off the back," Sam Froling said after the game. "I think that's what we want to be, the Hawks for NBL27."

On Sunday we take flight at John Cain Arena on a quick turnaround, and so do our hosts. Both teams played on Friday night: us at home in the Gong, and the Phoenix in Perth, where they went down 92-88 to the Wildcats.

Justin Tatum has made the message clear:

"We can't go backwards off the effort that we did today."

We head south locked in, with Kelan Martin on a heater and a fresh set of legs in the frontcourt. Martin had 21 last weekend in Sydney, then smashed it with 28 against Adelaide. Newly signed big man Makur Maker is set to make his Hawks debut after landing on Friday and clearing medicals.

The Matchup

Season series: First meeting of NBL27.

Both teams come in at 1-3, and the Phoenix sit one spot above us on percentage. Something has to give.

• Hawks form: We're 1-3, coming off a 114-92 win over Adelaide. We had 33 assists, won the boards 49-35 and hit 15 of 31 from three.
• Phoenix form: They're 1-3, and their only win came on opening night in Perth. They've lost three straight since, most recently 92-88 at RAC Arena on Friday.
• Home and away: The Phoenix are still chasing their first home win of the season (0-1 at John Cain Arena). We're chasing our first road win (0-3 away).
• Still to come: We meet again on Wednesday 11 November at the State Basketball Centre (Ignite Cup) and on New Year's Eve at the WIN Entertainment Centre.

Scouting the Phoenix

Skylar Mays: the engine. Mays leads the Phoenix with 15.3 points, 5.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds a game. He's also deadly at the line, shooting 90.9 per cent on free throws. He top scored in Perth with 17 points, seven assists and five rebounds. He's a volume shooter too, putting up 14.0 shots a game, including 7.3 from three at 31.0 per cent.

Dash Daniels: efficient and everywhere. Daniels is scoring 14.3 points a game on 55.3 per cent shooting, with 6.3 rebounds, a steal a game and 36.8 per cent from three. He had 13 points and seven boards in Perth, going 3 of 6 from deep.

The glass crew: Jordan Hunter and Akech Aliir. The Phoenix crash the offensive glass hard. Hunter averages 6.3 rebounds, two of them offensive, and Aliir pulls down 2.3 offensive boards a game. Aliir was dangerous in Perth with 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting. As a team, the Phoenix grabbed 17 offensive rebounds on Friday night and got up 14 more shots than the Wildcats.

Keys to Victory

Close Out the Arc. The Phoenix will let it fly. They took 45 threes in Perth and made 12, and Nathan Sobey and Tanner Krebs went a combined 0 of 11. Shooters don't stay cold forever, so every look has to be contested. We showed how on Friday, holding six-time MVP Bryce Cotton to just four shots. "We were able to do a really good job on Bryce, making everything difficult for him," Tatum said. Mays is next.

Finish the Possession. Defence isn't done until the ball is ours. The Phoenix live on second chances, and the answer is the effort we brought on Friday. Froling is averaging 8.0 rebounds a game, four of them on the offensive end, and we won the boards 49-35 against Adelaide. "Rebounding was big for us today. Guys made multiple efforts," Tatum said.

Move It and Look After It. The ball found the open man 33 times against Adelaide, and we didn't turn it over once in the first half. Milton Doyle (5.3 assists a game), Tyler Harvey and Davo Hickey (4.0 each) drive it. On the road, against a team that forced eight Perth turnovers, every possession counts.

Welcome Makur Maker. Fresh size, fresh legs and a big man who has been itching to get going. "He's cleared through all the medical and everything, and he was itching to get in today," Tatum said on Friday. "He'll be hopefully available on Sunday." Expect him to strengthen us in the paint, alongside Froling (14.8 points on 64.3 per cent) and the rest of the frontcourt.

Game Details

Who: Illawarra Hawks at S.E. Melbourne Phoenix
When: Sunday 4 October 2026, 3:00pm AEDT
Where: John Cain Arena, Melbourne
Watch: ESPN on Disney+

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Next week: Home double header!

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