Game Preview: Taipans v Phoenix

The Taipans will be close to full strength when they host the Phoenix for their first game in the tropics since December 2023, with only Jackson Makoi out of action as the Victorians aim for their second win at the Cairns Convention Centre in their seventh attempt.

Where and When

Tuesday, January 14 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 (94) v South East Melbourne Phoenix (99) in Round 11

Returning home from their back-to-back games in New South Wales, the Taipans will be looking to keep the pressure on after their win in Illawarra and coming four points short in Sydney. 

Now facing another top five side, Cairns will be wanting to continue targeting the rim and drawing contact, with the Taipans reaping the rewards over the last two games where they shot more shots from the free throw than their opponents.

Shooting from the stripe at 87% and 90% since the New Year, Cairns have given themselves an extra 11 points over their opponents in games that have a combined margin of seven points, with their win against the Hawks coming off free throws.

Leading their squad on the offensive end is the duo of Taran Armstrong and Rob Edwards, who together have piled on 103 across their last two appearances – contributing over half of the Taipans’ points – whilst also pulling down 18 boards and six steals. 

TOUGH THREE FROM TARAN 😤

📲 @cairnstaipans | 📺 @espn pic.twitter.com/E2F3YwQsCF

— Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) December 7, 2024

Continuing their hot streak will be a major focus when the Taipans return to their home court, with the duo last combining for 42 points in their last clash with the Phoenix.

Making the trip from regional Victoria to Far North Queensland in under 72 hours, the Phoenix will make their only appearance in Cairns this season for their second Tuesday night fixture at the Cairns Convention Centre – their last a loss on New Years Eve in 2019.

Since welcoming Josh King as their new Head Coach in Round 7, the Phoenix have won 64% of their matchups – with their win on Saturday taking them to seven wins across their last nine games – as the Victorians make a push for the playoffs. 

Back in Round 9, the Phoenix were able to control most of the contest until a charge from Armstrong and Edwards handed the Taipans a seven-point lead heading into the final term, before South East Melbourne returned serve and stole the win. 

Ranking fourth in the league for scoring, the Phoenix are also ranked third for opponent points allowed at 90ppg, with Coach King pushing their defensive identity, however his side has struggled to defend in fastbreak situations with his side ranking third last for points allowed.

Player to Watch

Ranked seventh across the league for scoring with 19.5ppg, Rob Edwards will arrive at the Cairns Convention Centre averaging 26.5 points in 2025 – including 28 in his side’s win against Illawarra. After struggling to draw fouls early in the season, the American has also been able to frequently draw fouls, with the guard shooting 25 free throws across the last three games, which he’s shot at 88% and only trails Jonah Antonio for efficiency.

This will be a stat that he can use to his advance against South East Melbourne, with Nathan Sobey the only guard who has averaged more than two free throws a game for the Phoenix. With Derrick Walton Jr. ruled out of the contest, Sobey will also be the leading scorer from the Phoenix guards, with Angus Glover being the only other playmaker to average over seven points a game for his side.

Tell 'em Rob 😤

📲 @cairnstaipans | 📺 @espn pic.twitter.com/CT1MgaY60i

— Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) January 3, 2025

What’s Been Said

Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde:

"We're playing with house money - all of the stresses of this part of the season for other teams, we probably had that around two months ago.

"I was joking with the coaches earlier, that let's be the guy that rolls up to the party, clogs up the toilet, steals your beer and leaves, and everyone wonders why you invited him. We've got less than a month left, and we've got nothing to lose.

"The cool thing with this group with the youth that they have, Taran's been thrown in the deep end to be a little bit of the leader. But he doesn't command the room by being a rah-rah guy - he's not standing up there giving these grand speeches like he's auditioning for a movie or something - he leads by example. He's direct with his language, and when he speaks the guys have his full attention."

Taipans forward Kyrin Galloway:

"The win definitely helped, but our confidence never dropped. Obviously, it’s in the back of your mind when you’re on a losing streak, but I think that we knew that we were in those games, and we had chances to win a lot of those games.

"Coach always says, ‘win or lose, we’re going to approach it the same the next day’, so I think that even the losses before that, no matter what happened in the game, we were coming in the next day and just analysing the film and trying to get better as a team."

The Lineups

Taipans

PG – Taran Armstrong / Kyle Adnam

SG – Rob Edwards / Jonah Antonio

SF – Pedro Bradshaw / Kyrin Galloway / Alex Higgins-Titsha

PF – Sam Waardenburg / AK Gak / Kody Stattmann

C – Tanner Groves / Dillon Stith

Phoenix

PG – Angus Glover/ Owen Foxwell

SG – Nathan Sobey / Ben Ayre / Luke Rosendale

SF – Matthew Hurt / Joe Wieskamp / Matt Kenyon

PF – Malique Lewis / Tom Vodanovich

C – Jordan Hunter / Majok Majok

Ins and Outs 

Taipans

Ins – Alex Higgins-Titsha, Kody Stattmann

Outs – Jackson Makoi

Phoenix

Ins – Luke Rosendale

Outs – Derrick Walton Jr. (ankle)