How to watch & talking points: Sydney v Cairns (Round 2, NBL26)

Sunday, September 28, 2025

sydney kings

cairns taipans

The revamped Sydney Kings make their long-awaited NBL26 season debut against Cairns.

Sydney Kings v Cairns Taipans
Sunday, September 28, 2.30pm AEST
Qudos Bank Arena

How to watch‍

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Talking points

The backcourt combo
The Sydney Kings made the headlines in the off-season by pairing together two of the best point guards in the league in Kendric Davis and Matthew Dellavedova.

They’ve spoken a lot about how they intend to get the best out of each other, with Dellavedova showing he could be one to watch for the season leaders in assists.

Schofield vs Cooks
Admiral Schofield has his NBA reputation to be a strong defensive presence and will get the chance to show that against the former MVP in Xavier Cooks.

While Cooks’ direct matchup might be Jack McVeigh, expect Schofield to spend a lot of time on the Kings forward and try to limit his production.

New faces

Sydney
‍Matthew Dellavedova, Kendric Davis, Tim Soares, Lueth Awan, Goc Mulal and Hunter Goodrick‍

Cairns
‍Jack McVeigh, Admiral Schofield, Andrew Andrews, Marcus Lee, Reyne Smith, Mawot Mag, Jed Richardson, Lloyd McVeigh and Lachlan Barker.‍

Depth charts

Sydney Kings
Projected depth chart:
PG: Dellavedova / Bruce
SG: Davis (IP) / Maluach / Robertson
SF: Galloway / Kuol / Awan (DP)
PF: Cooks / Noi / Mulal (DP)
C: Soares (IP) / Leaupepe / Spurgin (DP) / Goodrick

Cairns Taipans
‍Projected depth chart:
PG: Andrews (IP) / Adnam
SG: Smith / Stattmann / L.McVeigh (DP)
SF: Schofield (IP) / Higgins-Titsha / Mag
PF: J.McVeigh / Galloway / Richardson (DP)
C: Waardenburg / Lee (IP)