Home at last: the Gong gets its first look as Cotton and the 36ers roll into the Sandpit

Three games, and not one of them in front of our own people. That ends on Friday night. The Illawarra Hawks are coming home to WIN Entertainment Centre, and this group is locked in and hell bent on getting on the winners list.

It won't come easy. The Adelaide 36ers arrive as championship favourites, sitting third at 2-1, with six-time NBL MVP Bryce Cotton leading the way. We're 0-3, and we're three forwards down on the depth chart from just 10 days ago. Todd Blanchfield (broken thumb) and Mason Peatling are sidelined through injury, and Darius Days has been released.

Undermanned? Maybe. Short on fight? Not a chance. This is the group that clawed back from 18 down in Brisbane, then won the fourth quarter against the champs in Sydney.

Justin Tatum knows exactly what's waiting for his team in the Gong.

"We'll have Wollongong behind [us]... the team will be prepared and ready to go, undermanned or not. We have a big fire behind us and can't wait to let loose."

After Sunday's loss in Sydney, the coach was making promises, not excuses.

"...what don't break us is going to make us stronger and I promise you... in a month's time we'll be having a different conversation."

On the injury toll, he was just as clear:

"...at the end of the day we... are dealing with this right now... those guys are eager to come back but first they've got to get healthy and we still've got to hold it down."

Holding it down starts with you, Hawkheads. The Sandpit is ready. Let's fill it and let the 36ers hear it from the first whistle.

Visit the game day guide to plan your night.

Whether it is your first Hawks game or your three hundredth, these things make the night better.

The Matchup

Regular season series: first meeting of four. We've got Adelaide twice at home (2 October and 19 November) and twice on the road (7 November and 23 January).

• We've already had the last word once. At the Preseason Blitz in Bendigo on 3 September, a Milton Doyle game winner sank the 36ers.
• Hawks form: 0-3, all on the road. Sam Froling marked his 200th game with a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double in Brisbane, where we fought back from 18 down to get within one late.
• Kelan Martin is heating up. Had his best game so far, with 21 points and seven rebounds against Sydney.
• The fourth quarter belonged to us in Sydney. Kyle Adnam scored 15 of his 17 points in the final quarter, and we won it 29-23 against the NBL26 champions.
• 36ers form: 2-1. One win at home, and one win and one loss on the road.

Scouting the 36ers

Bryce Cotton: the main event. He's a six-time NBL MVP (one behind the great Andrew Gaze) and a nine-time NBL scoring leader, and he's in vintage form. Cotton is averaging 30.3 points in nearly 38 minutes a game, hitting 5.0 threes a game at 51.7%, and going 88.0% at the line on 8.3 attempts. He's also handing out 6.7 assists. Dangerous from deep, lethal at the stripe, and a genuine box office draw. If you've never seen him live, Friday is the night.

Nick Rakocevic: physical presence inside. He's putting up 18.3 points and 9.7 rebounds a game, 3.7 of those on the offensive glass, on 54.3% shooting. After what the Kings did to us on the boards, he's the man we have to keep off the glass.

Zylan Cheatham: the efficient engine. Cheatham is averaging 16.0 points on 60.9% shooting, with 8.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists, and he's getting to the line 8.0 times a game.

Late news: Adelaide announced on Tuesday that starting guard Flynn Cameron will miss the game with an ankle injury.

Keys to Victory

Win the Glass. Sydney beat us 46 to 25 on the boards on Sunday, including 16 offensive rebounds. With Rakocevic and Cheatham combining for 18.4 rebounds a game, every Hawk has to hit someone and chase every loose ball. Froling set the tone in Brisbane with six offensive boards. We need that from everyone.

Attack the Rim and Cash In. Across the last two games, we've taken 31 free throws. Our opponents have taken 55. That gap has to close. Cotton and Cheatham alone are earning 16.3 attempts a game between them, so we need to get downhill, draw contact and live at the line ourselves. And once we're there, knock them down. We went 5 of 14 at the stripe in Brisbane, in a game decided by eight.

Make Cotton Work for Everything. Nobody stops Bryce Cotton. You make him earn it. Contest every three, keep him off the line, and make him work through a crowd of Hawks every time he touches it.

Feed the Hot Hand. Tyler Harvey went 4 of 5 from three in Sydney and is averaging 3.7 threes a game at 45.8%. Adnam opened the fourth quarter at Sydney with back-to-back threes. Wani Swaka Lo Buluk hit back-to-back threes in the third. When a shooter gets going, find him again, and again, and again.

Game Details

• Who: Illawarra Hawks vs Adelaide 36ers
• When: Friday 2 October 2026, 7:30pm AEST
• Where: WIN Entertainment Centre
• Watch: ESPN on Disney+

Friday Night Timings

• Pre-Game Function: 6:00pm
• Main Doors Open: 6:30pm
• Show Starts: 7:00pm
• Tip-Off: 7:30pm

It's the first home game of NBL27, and we need every Hawkhead in the building.