On the back of two straight road wins, the Illawarra Hawks will return to the WIN Entertainment Centre for the first time this season on Friday.

The opponents for the Hawks will be the New Zealand Breakers, who are yet to register a win in NBL22 during their first three matches.

That includes defeats to South East Melbourne Phoenix (twice) and most recently, the Adelaide 36ers.

However the Dan Shamir-coached side can't be disregarded, with their heavily interrupted start to the season, due to COVID-19, injuries and being on the road - especially following Wednesday's news they've signed 119-game NBA veteran Chasson Randle as an injury replacement for Peyton Siva.

While it remains up in the air if Randle will be cleared in time for Friday, one player who will be on court is Jeremiah Martin, who grew up playing with and against Hawks star Antonius Cleveland.

"With Jeremiah being on their team, I've watched a lot of the Breakers games this season," Cleveland said.

"They're a dangerous team and one we aren't going to be taking lightly, despite their record.

"We know our team has certain expectations from within our group and around the league, so we're going to get everyone's best each time we step on the court."

During the round three encounter, there will be key position battles all over the court.

In the paint, Duop Reath, fresh off his man of the match performance against the Sydney Kings, will go toe-to-toe with talented centre Yannick Wetzell.

Through his first two games in the NBL, the Australian Boomer is averaging 22.5 points (third best in the NBL) and eight rebounds, while shooting 65 per cent from the field and 100 per cent from the charity stripe.

While the Auckland-born Wetzell is posting 19 points, four rebounds and one assist per contest in NBL22.

Another exciting match-up will be between the two NBA Next Stars - Justinian Jessup and Ousmane Dieng.

The former, who's draft rights lay with the Golden State Warriors, is the second leading scorer for the Hawks this season with 15, while the Frenchman Dieng is currently ranked number 11 on ESPN's NBA 2022 Draft board.

Dieng is one of two Frenchman on Shamir's roster, with import sharpshooter Hugo Besson averaging 20.33 points, 4.67 rebounds and two assists through the Breakers first three contests.

It’s .@ac_uno1’s world and we’re all living in it 🌎 #WeAreIllawarra #FlyAsOne #NBL22 pic.twitter.com/W9mGuxqbO8

— Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) December 11, 2021

Matching up with Besson will be Hawks import Antonius Cleveland, fresh off his best game in Illawarra colours against the Kings.

The 27-year-old Memphis product was electric at Qudos Bank Arena, posting 19 points, seven rebounds, five steals, two blocks and countless highlights in the win.

"I haven't played infront of home fans in one and a half years, so I'm pumped for Friday," Cleveland said.

"The support we've got thus far is incredible and we're excited to show our fans first hand all the hard work we've been putting together on the court."

The other forward showdown will pit young guns Sam Froling against Finn Delany, who are both two of the top young talents in the competition.

Moving into the backcourt, Hawks star Tyler Harvey will lock horns with Australian basketball prodigy William McDowell-White.

Harvey, who finished second second in MVP voting in NBL21, has started the season just as strong, thanks to averages of 14 points, 4.5 steals, four assists and 2.5 rebounds.

Similarly, Brisbane junior McDowell-White, who is enjoying his best season to date in the NBL, is posting 12.67 points, 5.33 assist and 4.33 this campaign.

Adding to the international flavour of the round three clash is Hawks Canadian guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Breakers Danish wing Rasmus Bach - who have both turned plenty of heads through the early stages of the NBL22 season.

Grab your seats for Friday's game with the Breakers via Ticketmaster: https://bit.ly/3rAADJw