How to watch Illawarra Hawks v Perth Wildcats: CODE Sports NBL Blitz

Two of the strongest teams from the Hungry Jack's NBL25 Season face off in front of a sold-out crowd on Friday night.

The Hawks will be keen to finish their pre-season on a winning note after a 21-point defeat against Adelaide, while Perth is right in the mix for the Loggins-Bruton Cup after an impressive win over Melbourne.

Who will claim early bragging rights between Justin Tatum and John Rillie?

Illawarra Hawks v Perth Wildcats
Friday, August 29, 8pm AEST
AIS Arena, Canberra

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Get tickets‍

Tickets are available via Ticketek.

NBL26 depth charts

Illawarra
Potential depth chart:
PG: / Hickey / McDowell-White (DP)
SG: Harvey (IP) /  / Ball (DP)
SF: Swaka Lo Buluk / Blanchfield / Grida / Narkle (DP)
PF: Bolden / Peatling
C: McGee (IP) / H.Froling (NRP) / Yates (DP)

Injured: S.Froling

Perth Wildcats
Potential depth chart:
PG: / Pepper / Russo-Nance
SG: Henshall / Dech / Rillie (DP)
SF: Windler (IP) / Mayen / Huefner (DP)
PF: Doolittle (IP) / Kouakou-Heugue (NS) / Wagstaff / Gerovich (DP)
C: Lual-Acuil Jr. / Okwera

Missing in action

Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. will be given more time to integrate with the Perth team after returning from national team duties, while Sunday Dech will miss again with a calf injury.

The Hawks are still waiting on the arrival of JaVale McGee after a bout of pneumonia, while Sam Froling is out with a long-term achilles injury.

Mason Peatling is expected to return to the lineup.

Talking points

Straight to the point?
Will Hickey just keeps getting better and better. From the inspiring role he played in the Championship Series, to his brilliance at the FIBA Asia Cup, he’s a player that leaves it all out on the floor. He is relentless.

Even in the first game of the Blitz, Hickey was diving at every ball, getting in the face of opponents and leading from the front.

He’s grown a reputation for his impact off the bench in recent years, but is it time for ‘Davo’ to be unleashed in a more permanent starting role?

Kell III replacement in waiting?
With that mind, it looks as though Jaquori McLaughlin could be in the mix to replace the import spot vacated by Trey Kell III.

Justin Tatum clearly rates the former Dallas Maverick after coaching him in Indonesia and bringing him across for a trial, and he played a team-high 27 minutes in the Hawks’ Blitz opener.

McLaughlin and Hickey could provide a pretty lethal one-two punch in the point-guard position, whoever gets the starting role.

Windler set to shine?
You only needed to see the ‘minutes played’ column to highlight how important Dylan Windler became late last year season for the Perth Wildcats. As he slowly found his groove, he became hugely important for John Rillie and his team.

27 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks, 4 assists and 2 steals in the second game of the Playoff Series last year highlights just how good the 28-year-old can be.

“My personal view is I think Dylan Windler is going to shock a few in season two,” Pete Hooley said on NBL Now.

“Remember once he got healthy in the back stretch of the season, he was highly valuable for the Wildcats. I think he's a guy, again, we always allude to the fact that that second season in the league, we see growth in guys and their performances. Dylan Windler is a high-character guy. He's a very good basketball player. And perhaps that stretch of injuries that he had is behind him.”

It could be a big year ahead for the star import.