NW Thunder Preview Round 11 - Road Trip

North-West Thunder Preview - Brad Cole Thunder Media

It will be a road trip of season-defining proportions for the North-West Thunder this weekend with their finals hopes hanging in the balance.

The 14th-placed Thunder (6-9) head to Melbourne to face a pair of teams also battling for a top-eight position on the NBL1 South ladder with only four rounds remaining in the season.

They start their travels with a trip to Eltham on Saturday night to take on the ninth-placed Wildcats, who sit in ninth place with an 8-7 record.

Sunday will see Sam Armstrong’s side back up with clash against Knox (9-7) who currently occupy the last spot in the top eight.

Currently on a three-game skid, Armstrong and his charges know any more losses will all but kill off any hopes of post-season action, but they will be buoyed by a solid record on the road so far in 2024 that has seen them go 3-3 on their mainland trips and play some of their best basketball.

The Wildcats are another NBL1 outfit who posses plenty of NBL-level talent, with new South-East Melbourne Phoenix signing Angus Glover and current Phoenix guard Owen Foxwell both suiting up, while imports Josh Sykes and Ralph Bissainthe are both capable of lighting up the scoreboard.

Knox haven’t quite hit the same heights as 2003 which saw them take out the NBL1 National Championship, but still possess a dangerous line-up that has six players averaging over 10 points per game.
NBL1 Men | NW Tasmania vs. Sandringham Sabres - Game Highlights (youtube.com)
The Thunder are coming off a last-start 80-94 loss to ladder leaders Sandringham at the Mazda BT-50 Stadium in a game that showed the team can match it with the league’s elite. But ultimately the class of the Sabres showed out when it mattered most as they used runs of 10-0 in both the second and third quarter to run out winners.

Tre Armstrong made a welcome return from injury to lead the team with 21 points to go with five rebounds and six steals, with Sekou Sylla (18 points & 9 rebounds) next best on the scoresheet.
Tre Armstrong with 21 Points vs. Sandringham Sabres (youtube.com)Both Saturday and Sunday’s game can be viewed by logging in to the NBL1 website or app, with the clash against the Wildcats tipping off at 8pm, while Sunday’s game at Knox gets underway at 2pm.

LEADING PLAYERS

Points – Thunder: Sekou Sylla 21.42ppg, Seth Swalve 15.4ppg, Tre Armstrong 11.5ppg. Wildcats: Angus Glover 19.69ppg, Owen Foxwell 18.47ppg, Ralph Bissainthe 17.92ppg. Raiders: KJ Feagin 17.25ppg, Austin Rapp 15.88ppg, Malith Machar 15.75ppg.

Rebounds – Thunder: Sekou Sylla 11.67rpg, Paul Campbell 5.60rpg, Archie Woodhill 5.40rpg. Wildcats: Ralph Bissainthe 6.17rpg, Joshua Sykes 6.00rpg, Angus Glover 5.77rpg. Raiders: Kyle Bowen 10.47rpg, Austn Rapp 7.31rpg, Anzac Rissetto 5.38rpg.

Assists – Thunder: Seth Swalve 4.93apg, Ben Woolley 2.07apg, Sekou Sylla 2.00apg. Wildcats: Owen Foxwell 4.80apg, Sam Short 3.80apg, Angus Glover 3.62apg. Raiders: KJ Feagin 5.31apg, Brody Nunn 4.25apg, Kyle Bowen 3.93apg.

LAST THREE MEETINGS

2023 – Thunder def Wildcats 94-86 (OT), Wildcats def Thunder 98-72, 2022 – Wildcats def Thunder 92-88 (OT).

2023 – Raiders def Thunder 85-80, Thunder lt Raiders 62-100, 2022 – Thunder lt Raiders 50-69.