Game Preview: Taipans v Bullets

With five men not suiting up for their last clash against Cairns, Brisbane’s injury list has grown to seven ahead of their final game of the season – three of which were season ending – whilst Rob Edwards will be the main piece missing from the Taipans lineup.

Where and When

Thursday, February 6 at the Cairns Convention Centre (6:30pm AEST)

How to Follow

Watch: Live on ESPN

Live Updates: Taipans X

Stats: Box Score

What’s Already Happened

Their Last Battle: Cairns Taipans (111) v Brisbane Bullets (80) in Round 17

Last facing each other on the Bullet’s home court, an electric shooting performance blasted Cairns past their hosts – walking away with a 31-point win despite pulling down 15 less rebounds and taking less shots across the night.

Led by Rob Edwards who put up 35 points in as many minutes, the Taipans shot the ball at 59% compared to Brisbane’s 36% with both AK Gak and Alex Higgins-Titsha hitting all of their shots.

Rob Edwards Summer Shootout behaviour 😤

📲 @cairnstaipans | 📷 @espn pic.twitter.com/EVDO7iufz6

— Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) January 17, 2025

A big missing piece for the Bullets was Tohi Smith-Milner, with the forward fouling out of the contest in only 12 minutes and the only backup forward being development player Josh Kunen who was only able to contribute two points in 15 minutes of action.

Whilst the Bullets struggled to keep their men out of foul trouble, Sam Waardenburg and Kyrin Galloway were the only Taipans to be called for more than two fouls despite Casey Prather and Josh Bannan combining for 12 drawn whistles across the night.

Since their last meeting in mid-January, Brisbane have struggled to keep their men on the floor, to the extent where they’ve needed to recruit their third injury replacement, with Callum Dalton joining Emmett Naar and Josh Adams on the side.

With their rotating lineups, their side has struggled to put points on the scoreboard and has been unable to pass 93 points since their clash with the Taipans – that performance securing them a win against New Zealand.

However, their recent 34- and 27-point losses against the top two teams – across which a Josh Adams 23-point performance was the sole stat line which passed 20 points – is the opposite of Cairns' recent results, who were able to take down both Illawarra and Perth since last meeting Brisbane.

Player to Watch

Putting together an incredible season – seventh in the league for defensive rebounding, fourth for blocks and the second ranked forward for assists – Sam Waardenburg has taken his game to the next level across the campaign and will look to close out the season strongly.

Falling agonisingly short of the NBL’s first triple-double for the season in Round 18 with a 24 point, nine rebound and nine assists performance alongside two steals and two blocks, the forward will be looking to reproduce that performance for the last home game of the season.

With Brisbane only able to send a limited forward/center rotation to Far North Queensland, the time will also be ripe for the New Zealander to repeat his performance from the Bullet’s last trip to Cairns. On a night when Waardenburg combined with Alex Higgins-Titsha for 19 boards, the Kiwi also put up 21 points with three dimes, a steal and an assist.

Sam throws it DOWN for his home town 😤

📲 @cairnstaipans | 📺 @espn pic.twitter.com/Qgesbj9LM5

— Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) February 1, 2025

What's Been Said

Taipans assistant coach Will Lopez:

“We mixed it up a little bit today [at training] but we’re just trying to keep bodies ready for two big games this weekend to try and finish on a high.

“For the whole year we’ve had guys that are starting their careers, wanting opportunities and they’re trying to start their careers the right way and earn more, and there’s guys on that Brisbane roster that are no different, so we’ll be treating it just as important.

“Hopefully we can just keep bullying them – the four years that I’ve been up here we haven’t lost to them often, so hopefully we can just keep that going and end their season horribly.”

Taipans guard Kyle Adnam:

“I think that it’s been a great 2025 so far, and we’re looking to finish it strongly. Obviously, Brisbane are down a few bodies and these games are always interesting at the end of the season, but we’re super excited and it’s important for us as well.

“The fans have been incredible – all year they’ve been showing out, whether we’re injured and whatever has been happening – they’ve come out and showed up, so we owe it to them, so we’re really excited for one last game in Cairns.

“Without Rob, from a structures perspective things don’t change – we’re still doing the same things offensively and defensively, and we’re going to try to continue improving every single week – but this is an opportunity for some of our younger guys.”

The Lineups

Taipans

PG – Taran Armstrong / Kyle Adnam

SG – Pedro Bradshaw / Jonah Antonio

SF – Alex Higgins-Tisha / AK Gak / Kody Stattmann

PF – Sam Waardenburg / Kyrin Galloway

C – Tanner Groves / Dillon Stith

Bullets

PG – Mitch Norton / Emmett Naar / Tristan Devers

SG – Josh Adams / Isaac White

SF – Keandre Cook

PF – Casey Prather / Josh Kunen

C – Tohi Smith-Milner / Callum Dalton

Ins and Outs 

Taipans

Ins – AK Gak, Jonah Antonio

Outs – Rob Edwards (early release)

Bullets

Ins – Emmett Naar, Tristan Devers, Josh Kunen, Callum Dalton

Outs – James Batemon (hamstring), Jarred Bairstow (ankle), Deng Adel (groin), Josh Bannan (concussion), Rocco Zikarsky (knee), Sam McDaniel (shoulder), Tyrell Harrison (concussion)