Game Preview: Hawks vs Sydney Kings | NBL27 Preseason

Preseason has a way of feeling like a warm-up, right up until you read the two names on the poster. NBL25 champions. NBL26 champions. The Illawarra Hawks and the Sydney Kings, the last two title holders in this league, sharing a floor in Wollongong on a Tuesday night. There is not a jersey Hawkheads would rather beat than Sydney.

The Hawks come in locked in and off the back of a 95 to 78 statement over the touring Saint Mary's Gaels, five men in double figures and 13 triples raining down on a packed house. But that was a college side. This is the reigning champion, the standard everyone in the competition is chasing, and the first real measuring stick of Justin Tatum's fourth season in charge.

It is also the first proper look at the new faces. Milton Doyle landed in Wollongong after the St Marys game and now has a week of training in the legs. If first impressions count for anything, the Gong has plenty to get excited about.

A "Feeling"

Assistant coach Matt Flinn has seen enough guards walk through the door to know when one is different. Ask him about Milton Doyle and he does not hesitate:

"I've had this feeling when a new guard arrives a few times. Ty [Tywain McKee, 2009/10], Gary [Gary Ervin, 2010/11], Rotty [Rotnei Clark, 2013/14], Kev and Kirk [Kevin Lisch and Kirk Penney, 2015/16]. I just knew straight away. It was like that after Milton's first session on Monday."

That is a roll call of names who won games and won over the faithful. Earning Three NBL MVPs, Four All-NBL First Team and one All-NBL Second Team nods as Hawks.

Tuesday is the first chance to see whether the feeling holds up under NBL lights.

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Champion Versus Champion

There is no NBL27 ladder yet, no series to level, nothing on the line but pride and preparation. Which, when it is the Kings, is plenty. Sydney bring the bulk of their championship roster to Wollongong, and these two clubs are going to see a lot of each other once it counts.

Four times the Hawks and Kings square off in the NBL27 season proper:

• Sunday 27 September, away at Qudos Bank Arena
• Thursday 22 October, home at the Snakepit
• Friday 4 December, home at the Snakepit
• Friday 25 December, away at Qudos Bank Arena, on Christmas Day

Tuesday is the first word in that conversation. The Hawks intend to have it heard.

Scouting the Kings

Even without Jaylin Galloway, now at Cairns, and Keli Leaupepe, lost to a season-ending injury, this is a loaded Sydney outfit.

• Kendric Davis. An MVP candidate and the engine of the Kings' offence. Give him a runway and he will carve you up.
• Xavier Cooks. An Illawarra junior and a former NBL MVP, back in his home town in enemy colours. Long, versatile, and a matchup problem at both ends.
• Torrey Craig. An NBA veteran who brings size, physicality, and the kind of two-way steel that wins finals.

Oh yeah, and there's also Delly, Matthew Dellavedova.  A Boomer, an NBA champion and an NBL champion. He'll take a charge and drag Sydney through the ugly minutes.

And on the bench, coaching legend Brian Goorjian, a man who has forgotten more about winning in this league than most will ever learn.

Keys to Victory

Unleash the Backcourt. Two champion guards in the same backcourt. Milton Doyle, who can run a team and get his own, next to Tyler Harvey, a co-captain who can bury a game from twenty-five feet. Two ball handlers, two shot makers, two men who have to be accounted for on every possession. Defences can load up on one of them. They cannot load up on both. Tuesday is the first look at what that partnership does to an NBL defence, and Hawkheads have waited a while for it.

Own the Glass. Sam Froling, Mason Peatling, Darius Days and Todd Blanchfield have to man the boards from the opening tip. St Marys' size pushed Illawarra around early last week and the Hawks still found a way. Against a champion outfit, second chances win nights.

Outside Shooting. The Hawks buried 13 from deep last time out. Do that again while running Sydney's shooters off the line, and this building will be shaking by the fourth.

Feed the Snakepit. The crowd is a weapon. The louder it gets, the harder Illawarra plays. Bring the noise early and make the champs feel it.

Game Details

Who: Illawarra Hawks vs Sydney Kings
‍When: Tuesday 25 August 2026, 6:30pm AEST
‍Where: The Snakepit
‍Watch: Live stream via the Hawks and NBL websites.

Hawkheads, Take Note

The first home game of the season proper is at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Friday 2 October against Adelaide.

Members: Check your inbox for Season Launch details.

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Single game tickets for NBL27 go on sale from Monday 24th August.