Victoria's snap lockdown has forced the start of the NWBL season to be overhauled with Victorian based players unable to make the trip up to NSW.

Tristan Knowles was set to return and play for the Sureway Wollongong Roller Hawks this season but unfortunately he will not be able to make the trip this weekend. 

 

There are even greater consequences for the Sydney Metro Blue Hornets who were set to pick up a number of players from Victoria this season after Kilsyth opted not to play this season. With their players unable to attend, Sydney will not be fielding a team this weekend and Basketball Australia has had to work through the logistics during the course of Thursday afternoon.

 

 

Sydney were set to play four games this weekend but rather than cancel them entirely, the draw has been redone to ensure there is still a high number of games at Shellharbour City Stadium this weekend.

 

Please disregard previous information and refer solely to the revised draw below.

 

* Just one game to be played on Friday night, Roller Hawks vs Queensland at 7:30pm (no 5:30pm game)

* There are still four games on Saturday with slight adjustment to times of morning games. The Roller Hawks were only scheduled to play in the evening but will now play a game during the day at 12pm against the U23s Spinners.

* There are now only two games on Sunday rather than three with the Roller Hawks playing just once, against the Perth Wheelcats.

 

“It’s disappointing that the Victorian players can’t make it, but the league has been able to work swiftly to ensure we still have a great round of basketball at Shellharbour this weekend,” says Roller Hawks President Geoff Adams.

 

“The Roller Hawks will still have 4 games including two now against arch rivals Perth. We’re hoping for plenty of support over the weekend and will be encouraging everyone to be COVID safe.”

 

“We will endeavour to keep everyone informed of any changes that might occur but hopefully the season can begin without too much more disruption.”