The Wollongong Roller Hawks resume their National Wheelchair Basketball League (NWBL) campaign with three big games this weekend. The Roller Hawks, who currently hold down first place after enjoying three wins in the opening round take on NSW rivals the Sydney Metro Blues who currently sit in second place after winning two out of their four games in Round 1. “They had two good wins and one of them was against good competition,” says Roller Hawks playmaker Luke Pople. “They’ve had some guys come over from America and Europe and they’ve got a new big guy that’s coming back this week that’s going add a bit more size and height to their team. That big guy is former US Paralympian Joe Chambers. At 6 foot 6, Chambers was a promising able bodied basketballer before losing his leg to cancer and eventually taking up the wheelchair version of the game. “He’s just a big human that tries to get under the basket and get those easy ones. Big guy to stop, big task but I think we can do it.” “Preparation for us is we’ve got to stop their threats and get out to their shooters and put as much pressure on them as possible.” The clash is also the Roller Hawks’ first chance to sport their new uniforms, the brainchild of Pople. “We had the old jerseys for a while, and I thought it would be cool to go for a new look for the team. We haven’t changed it in a long time.” “It incorporates a spinning wheel which goes together with wheelchair basketball and I thought it looked really cool and everyone really digs it.” “Seeing the guys roll around in it today is pretty awesome” ROLLER HAWKS ROUND 2 GAMES Friday May 26: ROLLER HAWKS vs SYDNEY METRO BLUES - 7pm @ Shellharbour City Stadium Saturday May 27: ROLLER HAWKS vs SYDNEY METRO BLUES - 7pm @ Shellharbour City Stadium Sunday May 28: SYDNEY METRO BLUES vs ROLLER HAWKS - 11am @ Minto Indoor Sports Centre
“Everyone’s got their name on their back, which is something we haven’t done for a while and not many teams do in our league so that’s something a bit more personal for our guys and I can’t wait to play in it on the weekend.”