The Sureway Wollongong Roller Hawks will be aiming for a direct route to the NWBL Grand Final when they take on the Perth Wheelcats this Friday night as the wheelchair basketball finals get underway.

 

A win against the second placed Wheelcats will see the defending champions move directly to Sunday’s Gold Medal Game, the loser having to back up on Saturday for a second chance to make the championship decider.

 

The Roller Hawks will welcome back Brett Stibners who missed Round 3 with a viral infection.
 

“I still feel lethargic, but other than that I feel alright,” says Stibners.

 

“I’ll contribute where I can, (coach) Brendan (Dowler) will bring me in and out where he can, he’ll judge where I can contribute. The guys did a fantastic job in Brisbane when I was away so I don’t want to spoil that.”

 

The Wollongong captain was impressed with what he saw from the rest of the team in his absence. 

 

“I was on the lounge watching the games. It was so nice seeing them do so well. What was pleasing for me was that nothing changed, we played the same style whether I was there or not and everyone buys into it, nobody strays from it because it works and if we do it again this weekend it should work again.”

 

Defence will be the key against Perth. 

 

“We need to be clinical, we need to be precise in what we do and how we do it. We need to shoot well and mainly in defence we need to communicate well.”

 

While a day off beckons for the victor of Friday night’s match, the loser will play the winner of the preceding game between Queensland (3rd) and Darwin (4th).

 

Tom O’Neill-Thorne remains sidelined but CJ McCarthy-Grogan is expected to be back for Darwin after missing round three. Despite Darwin losing all but their opening game, opposition teams are wary of what McCarthy-Grogan might be able to produce in front of his home crowd.

 

“Brisbane won’t have an easy game against the Salties on Friday night, CJ will come out and he will play really well and it will be interesting to see how they go and who gets up for that game.”

 

The Darwin Basketball Association will host both the men’s (NWBL) and women’s (WNBWL) Finals series across three days in the territory. 

 

In the women’s league, the Perth Wheelcats are hot favourites after winning all 9 of their regular games but they won’t be taking anything for granted. 

 

In 2019, the last WNWBL season, Perth finished first, won their semi final over second placed Sydney Uni, only to then lose to them in the Gold Medal game.

 

The Roller Hawks will be hosting a Finals Viewing Party at Collegians Auditorium 3A Charlotte St, Wollongong on Sunday 17th July, from 12pm.

 

The club is encouraging everyone including family and friends, volunteers, sponsors, juniors and fans to come along to cheer the team on from afar to create a real grand final atmosphere.

 

This FREE event will encompass the women’s Gold Medal game and the men’s Bronze and Gold Medal Games, all live streamed on the big screen with raffles, games and prizes up for grabs.

 

Those interested in attending should head to the Roller Hawks Facebook page to register on the event page to help plan for numbers.