North-West Thunder embark on the first of three consecutive road trips

NORTH-WEST THUNDER GAME PREVIEW
Story by Brad Cole  NW Thunder Media

The North-West Thunder embark on the first of three consecutive road trips this weekend, when they head to Victoria for a vital double-header.

After a disappointing showing at the Mazda BT-50 Stadium in front of their home fans last weekend against Melbourne, the 16th-placed Thunder head to Ringwood on Saturday night to take on the seventh-placed Hawks.

They back up on Sunday afternoon in Kilsyth where the 17th-placed Cobras await.

Currently sitting two games out of the top eight, Sam Armstrong’s team will be looking to snap out of a two-match losing streak to stay in finals contention as they head towards the halfway mark of the season.

But they will need to show a marked improvement from their last outing when they lost to the Tigers 84-74.

The Thunder fell behind early due to a three-point flurry from Andrew Gaze’s team and were never in the hunt until a late surge kept the crowd interested.

NBL1 Men | NW Tasmania vs. Melbourne Tigers - Game Highlights (youtube.com)

Sekou Sylla led the team with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Archie Woodhill made a welcome return to form with 17 points and four rebounds.

This Saturday’s match-up against Ringwood sees the Thunder come up against an opponent also looking to get back on the winners list following a pair of losses to Diamond Valley and Geelong last weekend.

NBL1 Men | Ringwood Hawks vs. Geelong Supercats - Game Highlights (youtube.com)

The Hawks will be led by import duo Jonathan Lawton and Braelen Bridges, who are one and two in points, rebounds and assists per game for the team.

Sunday’s journey to Kilsyth pits the Thunder against a Cobras team who have run hot and cold in 2024, but can’t be discounted with former NBL player Kyle Adnam in the line-up this year.

NBL1 Men | Kilsyth Cobras vs. Ballarat Miners - Game Highlights (youtube.com)

Saturday night’s game tips off at 8pm, while Sunday’s action starts at 2pm.

Both games will be streamed live on the NBL1 website or app by logging in with a free NBL+ account.

LEADING PLAYERS

Points – Thunder: Sekou Sylla 21.83ppg, Seth Swalve 13.89ppg, Tre Armstrong 11.78ppg. Hawks: Jonathan Lawton 22.58ppg, Braelen Bridges 18.3ppg, Ngor Nai 10.58ppg. Cobras: Kyle Adnam 17.00ppg, Adrian Tomada 14.20ppg, Corey Jeffs 10.80ppg.

Rebounds – Thunder: Sekou Sylla 13.17rpg, Paul Campbell 5.44rpg, Archie Woodhill 4.67rpg. Hawks: Braelen Bridges 9.7rpg, Jonathan Lawton 5.75rpg, Ngor Nai 5.17rpg. Cobras: Deng Riak 5.90rpg, Bryce Davis 5.80rpg, Corey Jeffs 4.90rpg.

Assists – Thunder: Seth Swalve 4.78apg, Sekou Sylla 2.00apg, Tre Armstrong 2.00apg. Hawks: Jonathan Lawton 4.83apg, Braelen Bridges 2.5apg, Tom Carroll 2.42apg. Cobras: Adrian Tomada 3.30apg, Kyle Adnam 2.29apg, Corey Jeffs 2.10apg.

LAST THREE MEETINGS v RINGWOOD

2023 – Thunder def Hawks 83-78, 2022 – Hawks lost Thunder 81-90, Thunder def Hawks 80-72.

LAST THREE MEETINGS v KILSYTH

2023 – Cobras def Thunder 93-68, 2022 – Thunder lost Kilsyth 73-100, 2021 – Cobras lost Thunder 63-98.