Wounded Taipans go down in Melbourne

Arriving in Melbourne for their second fixture of the round already missing Taran Armstrong and Tanner Groves, the Taipans also lost Pedro Bradshaw to a failed pre-game fitness test after hurting his ankle in Adelaide.

Shooting perfectly to open the game, United blasted off to an early lead, with Cairns' sole import Rob Edwards providing plenty of energy and hustle to inspire his team.

After struggling to hit their shots, the Taipans slowly closed the gap – led by Kyrin Galloway with Edwards heavily restricted by Melbourne’s defence.

Quickly flying through the opening minutes with minimal stoppages, Head Coach Adam Forde turned to his youthful bench to give his starters a breather - handing Kody Stattmann his Taipans debut early in the fixture.

Continuing to struggle with their shots, the young lineup outhustled their opponents – nearly ending the quarter with more offensive boards then Melbourne’s total rebounds as they looked to capitalise on second chances.

Determined not to let their hosts run away with the win, AK Gak and Kyle Adnam showcased their budding connection to kick-start their second quarter as they looked to reduce the margin.

Spurred on by their coach, Cairns started to tick the scoreboard over and hit their first four attempts of the quarter to slowly reduce the United lead.

Bucket plus the foul 😤

Waardenburg with the and-one!

📲 @cairnstaipans | 📺 @espn pic.twitter.com/E19b4gG3t7

— Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) October 27, 2024

However, Melbourne – lead by young guard Flynn Cameron – struggled to miss, and hit over half of their shots as they looked to extend their lead.

Stepping up to lead his side, Sam Waardenburg joined Adnam in the ball handling duties to help coordinate their side, whilst working into the paint to continue ticking the score over.

Taking advantage of more court time after his impressive Sydney debut, Alex Higgins-Titsha continued to ferociously battle for rebounds to end his first half with five boards in as many minutes.

Fellow development player Stattmann also showed positive signs, coming off the bench to hit 100% of his field goal and free throw attempts in the third quarter, with his efforts keeping him on the court.

Increasing their accuracy as the game continued, United slowly grew their lead with Waardenburg and Adnam continuing to direct their young teammates – helping stop the flow of points.

TOUGH and-one from Gak 💪

📲 @cairnstaipans | 📺 @espn pic.twitter.com/zd6Ban2BKe

— Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) October 27, 2024

Looking to acclimatise some of their young players to the league, Cairns substituted their starters for their secondary unit – giving more court time to Gak, Higgins-Titsha, Stattmann and Jackson Makoi.

Allowing Jonah Antonio to run the lineup for the final minutes of the game, the group hit a series of late buckets to close out the game.

Experienced Taipans Jonah Antonio and Sam Waardenburg both ended their afternoons with 11 points and two steals, with the guard finishing with eight rebounds and two assists, and the forward with three boards and four assists.

Both Cairns development players also made solid contributions, with Kody Stattmann supplying 10 points and two rebounds across his 22 minutes, and Alex Higgins-Titsha cleaning up eight rebounds and two assists in 10 minutes.

"There's still things throughout the game that we weren't disciplined in – we can't use fatigue or outs as an excuse, it was just not a very good day at the office," said Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde.

"The guys are playing their hearts out, and there was a bit of hangover from Adelaide. Waardenburg and Rob for example have played some superman minutes at the moment, and we need to get them some help.

"I have had players who have quit, and Rob's not that dude – Rob wanted to keep playing.

"There was even a part where I was thinking of icing him and Sam halfway through the third because I don't want to run these guys into the ground, but they wanted to keep playing."

The Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans now return home, hopeful to see their starters return to the lineup. They’ll have a chance to rest after the double header, before hosting the Brisbane Bullets on Saturday 2 November at 7:00pm – tickets available HERE.