Hawks at the NBL27 Blitz | Adelaide and Melbourne in Bendigo

Full squad, and two of the league's best guards waiting in Bendigo

The waiting is over. After a preseason that has given the Hawks plenty to work with and just as much to fix, Illawarra roll into Red Energy Arena on Thursday night with something they have not had all preseason: everybody available.

Kelan Martin can now suit up at the Blitz, joining Darius Days and Milton Doyle in Hawks colours for the first time. Sam Froling, who missed both hit-outs against the Sydney Kings while on national team duty with the Boomers at the FIBA Asia Qualifiers in Manila, rejoins the group in Bendigo. Co-captains, frontcourt anchor and three imports, all on the floor, all at once.

Hawks will need everyone of them. Thursday brings Bryce Cotton, a guard who spent a decade bending games to his will. Sunday brings a Melbourne United side that has spent the off-season shopping in the NBA aisle and just put 113 on Cairns. Two games, four days, and a Hawks group that knows exactly which box it has to tick.

The Road to Bendigo

The preseason ledger reads well at the top and honestly underneath it.

Saint Mary's College, 13 August, the Snakepit. A 95-78 win over a program with fifteen NCAA Tournament appearances to its name. Harvey finished with 23, William "Davo" Hickey posted 19 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists without a single turnover, and Kyle Adnam added 16 off the bench. Five Hawks in double figures, 13 threes at 36 per cent.
Sydney Kings, 25 August, the Snakepit. Abandoned at 27-32 with three minutes left in the first half after condensation made the floor unsafe. Froling was in Manila. Sydney were without Kendric Davis and Torrey Craig.
Closed-door scrimmage v Sydney Kings, at Hoops Capital in Sydney. A tough it-out against the reigning champions.

Here is the thread running through all of it. Against Saint Mary's, the Hawks had two points to the Gaels' twelve midway through the opening quarter, a ten-point hole early. Against Sydney at the Snakepit it was 5-12 with 5:46 gone and the shooting sitting at 18 per cent. Missed layups and a 1-of-10 night from deep did the damage. A similar story in Sydney.

To their credit, they kept swinging. When the second period arrived and the Hawks looked like the team they are building toward. Wani Swaka Lo Buluk scored five quick points two minutes in to make it 19-20. Days answered with five of his own for a 24-22 lead. Another Wani triple made it 27-22 and the Snakepit was alive. Sydney closed with a 10-0 burst to lead 27-32 before the game was called, but strip it back and Illawarra won those seven minutes of second-quarter basketball 16-14.

Plenty to like. Plenty to sharpen.

Scouting the Adelaide 36ers

They were seconds away from an NBL Championship. Adelaide fell to the Sydney Kings in in Overtime of Game 5 of the NBL26 Grand Final series, and much of that group has come back for another crack, with defensive stopper Bul Kuol arriving in place of the departing Dejan Vasiljevic.

Bryce Cotton. No introduction required, and the NBL26 numbers explain why. Cotton averaged 25.9 points and 7.6 assists, leading Adelaide in both. He scored more than double what the next-best 36er managed. Whatever Illawarra's defensive scheme looks like on Thursday, it starts and ends with him.

The NBL26 supporting cast. Cheatham averaged a genuine double-double at 11.8 points and 10 rebounds, plus 4.15 assists, and he is the sort of connective forward who quietly runs an offence. Isaac Humphries put up 12.6 points, 5 rebounds and a team-leading 1.5 blocks. Cameron chipped in 11.3 points. Adelaide were not a one-man team last season, whatever the scoring split suggests.

Bul Kuol. In for Vasiljevic, and a very different assignment for whoever he draws. Adelaide have swapped their fifth-leading scorer, at 10.8 a game, for a wing whose job is to take somebody's night away. Expect him on whichever Hawk is feeling it.

Scouting Melbourne United

New coach, new roster, new noise. Jacob Chance has taken over and United have retooled hard, adding NBA veteran and Boomers stalwart Joe Ingles, recent NBA players Cole Anthony and Luke Travers. Plus signing Kiwi Sam Waardenburg away from Cairns Taipans.

They arrive at the Blitz 2-1 for the preseason, and the most recent outing is the one that should have Illawarra's attention. On 29 August at Casey Stadium, United dismantled Cairns 113-97 in Anthony's first game in their colours.

Cole Anthony. Twenty-seven points on 9-of-18 shooting, 5-of-11 from three, five assists, three steals and a plus-22 that led the game. Like Cotton a few nights earlier, an elite examination for the Hawks backcourt.

Joe Ingles. Twelve points, six assists, three steals and 3-of-6 from deep in just 16:14 off the bench, at plus-16. Between them, Anthony and Ingles went 8-of-17 from three and combined for plus-38.

The whole thing hums. United had 28 assists on 39 made field goals, close to 72 per cent of their buckets created for one another, and shot 42 per cent from three on 38 attempts. Six players reached double figures. The bench contributed 32 points. Most alarming for anyone scouting them: captain Chris Goulding went 2-of-10 from deep and they still won by 16. Josh Oduro (18 points, eight rebounds) and Christian D'Angelo (18 points on 64 per cent) did plenty of the damage.

The one crack. On 22 August, S.E. Melbourne Phoenix beat them 91-89. This group can be got at.

There is also a small scheduling edge worth noting. United play Perth here on Friday night before facing Illawarra on Sunday afternoon, two days apart. The Hawks get three.

Keys to Victory

‍Start Like It Matters. Three preseason hit-outs, three slow starts. Down ten to Saint Mary's, down seven inside six minutes to Sydney. Illawarra have proven they can climb out. Against Cotton and Anthony they will not get the chance. The first five minutes set the tone for the whole trip.‍
Feed the Frontcourt. Froling is back and the interior finally has its anchor. Add Days and Martin and the Hawks have real size, real physicality and real second-chance potential. Cheatham averaged ten boards a game last season and United pulled 13 offensive rebounds against Cairns. Win the glass and the guard duels get a lot easier to survive.‍
Make the Guns Earn It. Cotton on Thursday, Anthony on Sunday. Neither can be stopped, but both can be made to work. Bodies on the ball early, no easy catches, no free runs at the rim. Make somebody else beat us.‍
Run Them Off the Line. United buried 16 threes at better than 42 per cent against Cairns, and they generate them through ball movement rather than isolation. Illawarra's own 1-of-10 night from deep against Sydney is not who this group is either. With Harvey, Doyle, Martin and Days all capable of going off, the shots will come. Contest theirs, take ours with conviction.

Game 1 Details

Who: Illawarra Hawks v Adelaide 36ers
When: Thursday 3 September 2026, 8:00pm AEST
Where: Red Energy Arena, Bendigo
Watch: ESPN on Disney and Kayo

Game 2 Details

Who: Illawarra Hawks v Melbourne United
When: Sunday 6 September 2026, 2:30pm AEST
Where: Red Energy Arena, Bendigo
Watch: ESPN on Disney and Kayo