Starting 5: Road warriors, gritty wins & dominant performances

Round 7 saw away teams win eight of the nine matches, Melbourne and Sydney continue to build momentum, and Perth and New Zealand suffered back-to-back losses.

Pete Hooley looks at some key talking points from the round just gone.

1 – Building nicely

After an inconsistent start to the season, Melbourne United are building nicely with three straight wins, and they’re doing it in style.

While Cole Anthony has been a standout in all three of those wins, it’s been fellow import big man Josh Oduro who is being labelled as one of the ‘recruits of the year’.

His no-fuss attitude, efficiency around the basket and superb rebounding have been a major reason for United finding their form on both ends of the floor.

2 – Never count them out

The Tasmania JackJumpers travelled across to Melbourne with barely enough players to take the floor, after David Johnson and Ben Gold were added to the injury list last week.

In a game where the odds were stacked against them, the JackJumpers got it done in the typical Tasmania way, with their backs against the wall and showing tremendous fight.

It’s something that has become the norm for Tasmania, and a big win over the Phoenix on Sunday will only strengthen their confidence that this year could be very special.

3 – Home, not so sweet home

The Perth Wildcats have one of the more unusual schedules in the League, playing 11 of their first 13 games at RAC Arena in front of the Red Army.

While they started the season strong and have had to navigate some key injuries, losing two straight at home the way they did last round was not ideal.

John Rillie highlighted the issues in the press conference and put the challenge out to his team in terms of being more competitive on the glass, and with a couple more home games before the break, it’s important they don’t let too many more slip away.

4 – Can we get an encore?

After the Illawarra Hawks beat Melbourne United a few weeks ago, we thought it could be a big enough win to put their season back on track, but we were wrong.

However, heading over to Perth and not just winning, but doing it the way they did, should give them plenty of confidence to turn things around.

Justin Tatum’s team were more active on both ends of the floor and their high energy was on full display, as they head to Cairns full of confidence.

5 – Gutsy

After a run of home games to start the season, Sydney’s tough three-game away stretch is over, with the reigning champs putting the League on notice.

After heading over to Perth and dominating the Wildcats in the first quarter, the Kings travelled to the Silverdome and scraped a win out of an ugly game.

While Kendric Davis was up to his usual tricks, leading from the front, it was Tyler Robertson who came up big down the stretch against Tasmania, with some strong defensive plays to help secure the win.

It’s not always going to be pretty, and grinding out a win like that could do the champs wonders going forward.