No opponents, that is, a lack of games between now and the NWBL Finals could be the Sureway Roller Hawks’ biggest stumbling block after the ladder leaders disposed of the West Adelaide Thunder in Round 5.

 

The Roller Hawks only have one more round of games between now and the Finals which don’t start until mid August.

 

The shortage of game time is less than ideal preparation for coach Brendan Dowler, but it’s a scenario the Roller Hawks have faced before. In 2018 the Roller Hawks had three and four week gaps between rounds due to byes in the back half of the season.

 

The Roller Hawks juggernaut continued over the weekend, winning 78-44 on Saturday and 81-32 on Sunday against West Adelaide to move to 15-0 in 2019.  

 

Saturday’s game began in scrappy circumstances with the scores locked at 2-all after three minutes. Unhappy with his side’s stagnant start, Dowler called a time out. From there Wollongong went on a 12-0 run which included back-to-back threes from Brett Stibners.  

 

Despite some uncharacteristic errors that included back court turnovers, expired shot clocks and a lack of ball movement synonymous with Roller Hawks basketball, the visitors were in control throughout the game, leading 20-11 at quarter time and 36-20 at half time before outscoring the hosts 42-24 in the second half.

 

Brett Stibners finished with 28 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists, while Nick Taylor pushed his season high to 20 and Luke Pople finished just shy of a triple double with 16 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists.

 

On Sunday the Roller Hawks were all business, playing with clinical precision as they restricted the Thunder to just 8 points in each quarter. 

 

At the offensive end, Shawn Russell was unstoppable underneath the basket. After only getting two shot attempts in the first half of Saturday’s game, Russell was everywhere in the first half on Sunday scoring 20 points on 9 of 12 shooting. Russell finished with 29 points and 16 rebounds including 8 offensive boards.

Luke Pople again finished just shy of a triple double with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists while Brett Stibners registered his third triple double of the season with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

 

The Roller Hawks now have a three week break before travelling to Brisbane to play in a grand final rematch against the Queensland Spinning Bullets. The Bullets continued their rise up the ladder after a slow start to the season with three comprehensive, if not expected wins against the Red Dust Heelers. 

 

In the league’s other matchup of the round, the Kilsyth Cobras have returned to the top four with three wins against the Sydney Metro Blue Hornets. The Blue Hornets will rue a lost opportunity to stay well placed in finals calculations after coming back from 25-12 down to lose by three on Friday and leading by 5 at three quarter time on Saturday before capitulating 9-22 in the final period.

ROLLER HAWKS ROUND 5 RESULTS

 

Saturday July 6: ROLLER HAWKS 78 def THUNDER 44

Sunday July 7: ROLLER HAWKS 81 def THUNDER 32