NBL Games Round 1

Friday 21st September

Adelaide v Wollongong

The Sixers have rebuilt and look to put last years disappointing season behind them. Adelaide could never get into their groove last year mostly due to injuries which ravaged their side. Brett Maher hopes to remain injury free so he can guide his side back to where they belong; in the Playoffs. Joining him will be new recruits Adam Ballinger and Mike Chappell replacing Willie Farley and Nick Horvath. The interesting signings for the Sixers were Axel Dench and Brad Davidson. Davidson is an under rated competitor. He was asked to lead both his previous teams, Slingers and Hunter, and acquitted himself quite well, but in a supporting role to Maher he could be quite damaging, not only as an impact player with perimeter scoring but also for his on court leadership. Coach Smyth rounded out his roster by signing former Tigers championship player Neil Mottram who will combine with Ballinger and Dench inside to form a formidable frontcourt.

On the other hand the Hawks have had an off season from hell. They lost the likes of Ballinger, Saville and  Groves, not to mention Coach Brendan Joyce and son Daniel. On a brighter note the sacking of  Joyce has opened the door for new coach Eric Cooks to gain some experience at this level. As a previous assistant coach and former respected player of the league Cooks should be up to the challenge.
Other positives sees Kavossy Franklin, recruited from the Dragons, and James Peters fill the import spots. Franklin has championship experience with the Kings and is a wily veteran who you can depend upon to make clutch plays. Peters will have to assist Franklin as much as possible so the Hawks can stay competitive. They have filled the rest of the roster with young talent, Tragardh, Castle and Kench, who will have to supply significant production to take pressure off their imports. The Hawks also lured Lindsay Tait from NZ. Their depth consists of Larry Davidson, Cam Rigby and the ever reliable outside marksman Matt Campbell. How the team comes together early and how quickly they can learn coach Cooks’ plays will be key to their chances this season.

Selection
For mine the Sixers are the more balanced and experienced side with more ability. They can create mismatches inside the paint with Ballinger, Mottram, Dave Cooper and Dench making things difficult for the Hawks interior defence. Even though Adelaide had a nightmare season they were still able to win 50% of their games at home. Last year the Sixers for the most part blooded their youngsters and gave them a taste of big minutes. That won’t be the case this season as they have so much talent to draw from, but what it has done is give the bench and lesser likes of the team, the confidence to come in when required and do well. The Hawks import combo should keep them in the game for a while and Cooks has a nice complement to work with, but they have made too many changes to realistically challenge the Sixers.

Sixers -8 @ 1.91 Sportsbet - 2 Units