Game Report: Hawks vs Melbourne United | NBL27 Blitz

Forty lead changes. Neither side ahead by more than ten all afternoon. A preseason game in Bendigo that nobody watching could have safely left early.

Melbourne United won it 103-98 at Red Energy Arena on Sunday, and took the Loggins-Bruton Cup with it. The Hawks led with 7:29 on the clock and could not close. That is the honest headline. The rest of the afternoon said plenty about what Justin Tatum is building.

Same Soil, Same Doyle

Milton Doyle opened with a three and did not stop. By halftime he had 15 points from five attempts beyond the arc, all five made. Two of them came from the same patch of floor he won Thursday night's game from. Same soil, same Doyle. That corner of Red Energy Arena has a Wollongong postcode on it now.

Everything Else Was Hard Work

The first half belonged to one man and nobody else. Tyler Harvey went 1 from 8, missing all five from deep. Kelan Martin was 1 from 5. Sam Froling got three clean early looks inside a couple of minutes and none of them dropped.

The Hawks trailed 51-44 at the break having barely made a shot outside of Doyle, which is either a worry or a promise depending on which way you look at it.

Thirty-Four to Twenty-Five

The third quarter answered that. Thirty-four points to twenty-five.

Harvey found it. A steal and a crafty layup, then a tough three, then another after a Darius Days offensive rebound. Eight second-half points on three-of-four shooting from a man who had been one-of-eight. Days himself hit an and-one and a three inside a minute. Daniel Grida buried a three and then stole the ball back. Doyle's four-point play levelled it at 66. Todd Blanchfield closed the quarter with three free throws and the Hawks went to the final break in front, 78-76.

"Fourth Quarters Are Going to Hate Seeing the Hawks"

Early in the fourth, commentator Derek Rucker named his three best clutch players in the NBL. Tyler Harvey first. Milton Doyle second. Bryce Cotton third. His co-commentator Felix Von-Hoff replied that fourth quarters were going to hate seeing the Hawks.

For seven minutes it looked prophetic. William Hickey opened with a floater, then found Blanchfield for a reverse layup that put the Hawks up 84-78 with 7:29 left, Hawks biggest lead of the game.

Eight Unanswered

Then United went to work. Luke Travers dunked it back to level. Martin answered with a three, Tom Wilson answered him. Martin's mid-range put the Hawks back up 93-91. Froling's layup with 2:55 to go made it 95-94 Illawarra.

That was the last time Hawks led. Travers made one free throw, Fabijan Krslovic scored, Josh Oduro scored, and Malith Machar buried a three. Eight unanswered, 102-95, and 1:38 on the clock. Martin's fourth three of the day cut it to four. The Hawks did not score again. Three more looks from deep in the last 74 seconds, from Martin and twice from Doyle, all came up short.

The Numbers That Held Up

The individual returns were genuinely good. Martin finished with 20 points and four threes after that 1 from 5 start. Doyle had 19 on 6 of 9 from beyond the arc, at 66.67 per cent night from three.

The best all-round shift belonged to Davo Hickey. Fourteen points on 5 of 10, eight rebounds, six assists, five fouls drawn, and a team-high efficiency rating of 23. He drew a foul on Chris Goulding on a loping drive in the second, stepped through for a bucket in the third, and set up the play that gave Illawarra their biggest lead of the game. Davo has spent this Blitz reminding everyone what he can do.

Where It Got Away

The margins tell the story of the loss. United took 34 free throws to Illawarra's 23 and made 25 to 18. They out-rebounded the Hawks 55 to 43, with Kyle Bowen alone pulling down seven offensive boards. Twenty-five Hawks fouls is a number Tatum will circle.

United's Side of It

United, without Cole Anthony and Joe Ingles, lost Sam Waardenburg to a rolled ankle after just 3:32 and still found scoring everywhere. Josh Oduro was the difference with 22 points on 9 of 12 shooting and nine rebounds. Shea Ili added 17, Tom Wilson 16 with four threes, Goulding 14 in 16 minutes off 6 of 6 at the line, and Travers a 13 and 10 double-double.

Next Up

The Blitz is done. The games start counting on Sunday 20 September, when the Hawks open NBL27 against the New Zealand Breakers at Spark Arena in Auckland, 3:00pm AEST.

The WIN Entertainment Centre doors open for the first time this season on Friday 2 October against the Adelaide 36ers, 7:30pm. Tickets are available now through Ticketmaster.

The season proper

Be at the WIN Entertainment Centre for our first home game.

After three tough road games to start the season, the home opener is Friday October 2, vs the Adelaide 36ers.

• Single Game tickets are now available

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Highlights, photos and everything from Bendigo are landing across our social channels now. Follow along.

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HUNGRY JACK'S NBL BLITZ 2026 (Boxscore)
ILLAWARRA HAWKS 98 (Martin 20, Doyle 19, Hickey 14, Harvey 10)
MELBOURNE UNITED 103 (Oduro 22, Ili 17, Wilson 16, Goulding 14, Travers 13)

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