A brilliant first half has propelled the Sydney Kings to a gutsy 81-72 win over the Cairns Taipans on Thursday night at Qudos Bank Arena.

Executing as well as they have all season at both ends of the floor, the Kings restricted the Taipans to just 32 points in the opening twenty minutes and looked set to come away with a massive victory after leading by 19 at intermission.

But injuries to Todd Blanchfield (concussion) and Perry Ellis (shoulder) meant the Kings were forced to go deep into their bench to survive a furious comeback by the Taipans, who got back into the game in the third period thanks to Alex Loughton’s 11 points and a couple of timely baskets from Cameron Gliddon.

Down by as much as 24 points at one stage, Cairns cut the lead down to six points in the fourth quarter, but Jerome Randle (16 points, six rebounds, four assists) and Brad Newley (eight points, four assists) hit clutch shots to keep the Taipans at bay.

“When they got six down, Jerome hit a massive shot and we went from six to nine,” Andrew Gaze said afterwards.

“In the context of the game, it was a massive play that he made.”

“And Brad Newley, for all the troubles he was having and couldn’t throw it in the ocean, hit a massive shot.”

“We were able to get it done in the second half because we were able to make some big offensive plays, but that was through their skill and the way in which they played rather than our structure. We’ve got to do a better job putting them in a position where they can score a little easier.”

In the end, it wasn’t pretty, but it was a much-needed win that snapped the team’s five game losing streak and provides some light at the end of the tunnel for what has been a beleaguered unit in the opening couple of months.

“We understand the road ahead of us and the challenge we face,” Andrew Gaze said.

“It’s a difficult one, but it’s one we’re trying to get the guys to embrace and welcome the obstacles that are presented in front of us.”

“I think tonight we did a good job of that.”

But as Andrew also noted, the win came at a cost.

Blanchfield had a nasty head clash with Isaac Humphries in the second quarter that saw him knocked out and prone on the Qudos Bank Arena floor for several minutes and Ellis suffered a knock to his shoulder in the first quarter that he tried valiantly to battle through, but couldn’t take any further part in the game from midway through the third quarter.

Both have been ruled out of the return clash with the Taipans on Saturday night in Cairns.

“Todd is in a bad way,” Coach Gaze said.

“Perry is in a bad way too. He had a shoulder issue, and he tried to push through it, to his credit.”

“He wanted to try it, but he couldn’t go, and we were running the risk of doing more damage.”

With all the hits the Kings have taken this season, injuries to two starters might have sent them over the edge. But Andrew Gaze – whose Melbourne Tigers started the 1997 season with a 3-9 record but went on to win the NBL championship – remains defiant.

“As I said to the guys, you gotta believe. You gotta have that belief and that’s half the thing.”

“No one believes except for what’s in our locker room.”

“I might be a masochist or something, but all these different challenges you face make the journey tougher, but they make the reward better.”


SYDNEY KINGS 81 (Cadee 16, Randle 16, Tyler 15) def. CAIRNS TAIPANS 72 (Gliddon 20, Loughton 19, Egwu 11) at Qudos Bank Arena.

​Source: Matt McQuade (SydneyKings.com.au)

Listen to the highlights of the Hawks incredible comeback (or was it more the Kings incredible fadeout) as called by Matt McQuade and Troy Pilon on SWR NBL.

​Three years, travelling throughout the world’s biggest continent, a stop over halfway across the world has lead the Socceroos to this point in time. One more game, one last chance to finally book their tickets to Russia.

This qualification campaign throughout the entire world has thrown its fair share of surprises headlined by Italy. The Azzurri are football royalty. With four World Cup victories, six finals appearances not many countries can boast more than the Italians.
A troubled decade which saw consecutive World Cup group stage exits and a depleted player pool compared to the one in 2006 has reached its boiling point.

The Netherlands, the romantics of football failed to qualify for another major tournament after missing out on Euro 2016. Oranje have struggled to recapture the likeliness of past players that have donned the kit.
Across in Africa the past two champions Cameroon and Ivory Coast failed to qualify. United States, the most recent victors of North & Central America’s Gold Cup missed out, as did the back to back champions of South America, Chile.

As like everywhere around the world, continental success can easily be forgotten if it starts to dry up in a short amount of time. The Asian Cup success in 2015 is a distant memory for football fans in Australia now that the focus is on whether or not the Socceroos can overcome Honduras and qualify for Russia. The first leg saw the Socceroos cope with the pressure of a passionate crowd.
Ange Postecoglou’s men contained Honduras extremely well, but with a near perfect Sydney pitch coming into effect the second leg is expected to allow for much more open football.
It will allow Australia to play their desired game plan but it could present Honduras with an opportunity.

A better pitch could allow Honduras’ pacy forwards to open up the Socceroos defence on the counter attack. Hertha Berlin’s Mathew Leckie’s absence in the first leg was very noticeable. Jackson Irvine naturally a centre midfielder was out of depth in an unfamiliar position. There were moments where Leckie’s pace down the touchline was sorely missed and Irvine couldn’t adapt. The return of captain Mile Jedinak and Asian Cup hero Massimo Luongo to the starting XI were significantly impactful.

The much discussed three man defence looked more comfortable with Jedinak shielding them, whilst Luongo’s energy in the midfield was crucial and has given his manager a selection headache with the impeding returns of Leckie, Robbie Kruse and Mark Milligan.
Honduras really struggled to handle Tomi Juric throughout the first leg but with Tim Cahill being readied for the tie in Sydney, the Hondurans have a difficult challenge on their plates. Many felt that Cahill’s presence in the first leg would have provided a desired away goal but now the job is to get the result at home.

A failed qualification campaign for the Socceroos will put them in an illustrious list full of teams that have cabinets full of trophies. Though those teams have been branded as losers and failures. Nobody should be living in the past and the repercussions will not be pleasant if this team is added to that list.

Listen to every second of tonight's final World Cup qualifier live on SWR Triple 9 tonight at 6pm with Julian Daw, Will Gotsis and Scott Jackson.

It took 29 months and an odyssey that took them to all corners of Asia and later Honduras, but the Socceroos accomplished their mission Wednesday night at ANZ Stadium with a 3-1 win in the 2nd leg against Honduras.

After a goalless draw on Saturday in Honduras the Socceroos knew a win of any kind would be enough to send them to a fourth consecutive World Cup while any Honduran goal would make their assignment all the more difficult after failing to score an away goal on Saturday. Yet the 77'061 sellout crowd turned the Olympic venue into Australia's cauldron as Honduras rarely threatened the Australian back three.

After a largely uneventful first half it was Mile Jedinak who opened the scoring after 53 minutes when he belted in a free kick from 19 yards out, the ball took a deflection from Honduran captain Henry Figueroa and into the net. The goal was originally credited as an own goal but was later reversed into a goal for Jedinak.

The Socceroos would get the vital second goal from the penalty spot in the 71st minute after Bryan Acosta was deemed to have handled the box. Mile Jedinak would step up from the spot and put the ball past the keeper to send the sold out crowd into raptures.

Jedinak would complete his hat trick five minutes from full time after Robbie Kruse was tackled from behind inside the box. Jedinak tucked away the ensuring penalty and the Socceroos 29 month qualifying mission was complete.

Alberth Elis headed home a corner for Honduras in the final seconds of the game to give Honduras a small piece of consulation, but nobody in the crowd cared one jot as from the resulting kick off the referee blew the full time whistle and the celebrations could officially begin.

After taking the long way round the Socceroos 5th World Cup appearance next winter was confirmed.

Hear all the highlights from SWR Triple 9's historic live broadcast of the game! 

Stop me if you've heard this before.
The Western Sydney Wanderers played out a draw in their latest A-League outing after leading at half time.
You have heard this before, the last five weeks straight. This one was a little different however

On Sunday night at AAMI Park it was the City half of Melbourne who were the side to come from behind to get a point after Jashua Sotirio vindicated his surprise starting spot with an 11th minute goal after a City defensive error.

In Josep Gombau's first match in charge of the Wanderers he tinkered with the formation with the long used 4-2-3-1 making way for a 4-1-4-1 regime. The Wanderers however looked at times to be struggling to get to grips with the Spaniard's regime but there were plenty of promising signs as the match wore on.

City scored their equaliser in the 55th minute after the VAR intervened after Ross McCormack was taken down in the box by a late challenge from Raul Llorente.

The referee pointed to the spot, only to indicate he had called for a Western Sydney goal kick.
But the decision was overturned after being examined by the video assistant referee and McCormack converted the spot kick to claim his fourth goal for the season.

City would then dominate the remainder of the match but it was another Vedran Janjetovic masterclass in net that kept the Wanderers unbeaten start to the season intact.
Janjetovic made several clutch saves, none better than his dive to the left to deny McCormack's curling set piece from just outside the penalty box in the 42nd minute. In all he had 16 shots directed his way with 8 on target yet he was only beaten from the penalty spot.

​For Melbourne City it was an evening of frustration as a combination of Janjetovic saves and their own blown chances in front of goal cost them a chance to go to the top of the league.
City however did leapfrog the champions Sydney FC into second place with the point, one behind the current league leaders the Newcastle Jets. 
Yes those Newcastle Jets.

For the Wanderers they remain in fourth spot on 8 points, 6 behind the Jets however those two remain the only unbeaten sides after six rounds.
In an interesting stat the Wanderers have now drawn 18 of their last 34 A-League matches after 90 minutes, if they again share the points with Wellington next week they would tie the current A-League record for most consecutive draws (6 - Wellington Phoenix - 2009) and would be halfway to tying their mark of most draws in a season that they set last season after only 7 rounds.

- Julian Daw (SWR Head Of Sport)

The Wanderers next A-League assignment is against the Wellington Phoenix on Saturday at Spotless Stadium, join the team live at 5 on SWR Triple 9 for all the action!

The Western Sydney Wanderers have blown a golden opportunity to break their Etihad Stadium hoodoo, forced to settle for a 1-1 draw with a ten man Melbourne Victory on Monday night.

Goals by Oriol Riera and Thomas Deng resulted in the points being shared by the two sides after Melbourne Victory were reduced to 10 men early in the first half.

The Wanderers were quick to pounce on the opportunity of a depleted Melbourne side who were already without Besart Barisha, Kosta Barbarouses and James Triosi when the Wanderers found the opening goal through Oriol Riera. 
Álvaro Cejudo played the ball in behind for Raúl Llorente whose fast pace and pinpoint cross was met by Riera’s header.

Jumpei Kusukami was brought down in the box by Rhys Williams and was awarded a contentious penalty. 
Riera stepped up to take the spot kick but the shot was expertly read by goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas. 

Victory fired back with the equaliser early in the second half with Leroy George curling in a set piece that was finished by Deng.
Roly Bonevacia had the best chance of the night to put the Wanderers back in front, but his strike plowed into the post. 

The Wanderers remain in fourth spot on the ladder with one win and four draws, six points behind the league leading Sydney FC

​Catch all the action of the Wanderers clash against Melbourne City this Sunday from AAMI Park in Melbourne on SWR Triple 9! Sunday at 7pm on SWR Triple 9 via Football Nation

The Sydney Kings playoff hopes are on life support after a 4th quarter fadeout condemned them to a 93-83 loss to the Illawarra Hawks on Sunday afternoon at Qudos Bank Arena.

The Illawarra Hawks completed a perfect weekend on Sunday in Sydney to haul themselves off the bottom of the NBL ladder, coming from behind to beat the Kings for the first time this season.

Rotnei Clarke was at his fearsome best, erupting for 14 of his game-high 29 points (5/8 threes) in the 4th quarter after Illawarra trailed 65-64 at three-quarter time.

Nick Kay was integral with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Demitrius Conger finished with 10 points and eight boards.

Illawarra's victory came hot on the heels of Friday's 31-point thumping of the Bullets in Brisbane and boosted their record to 3-5.

"He's a former MVP of the league and we want the ball in Rotnei's hands at crucial times," Illawarra coach Rob Beveridge said.

"I think fatigue took its toll on Sydney down the stretch.

"We had to junk it up and it was pretty ugly at times, but we wanted to apply that consistent pressure physically and mentally."

The Kings are last with two wins from eight games and can't get injured captain Kevin Lisch back soon enough.

Perry Ellis and Brad Newley combined for 37 points and 19 rebounds for Sydney, while Todd Blanchfield added 14 points.

The game was perhaps the closest of any contest this season, culminating in 37 lead changes and 14 ties.

Illawarra's win avenged two previous losses to their New South Wales rivals including an overtime thriller last Sunday in Wollongong.

Sydney took advantage of the Hawks' slow start in the opening quarter, racing to a 9-2 lead which had Illawarra coach Rob Beveridge burning his first timeout after three minutes.

The Hawks responded with a 12-2 surge to take their first lead and were up 21-20 after one quarter on the strength of Clarke's shooting.

The game became a grind in the second period as both teams focused on defence more than usual and the pace slowed, neither team was able to pull away in a first half featuring a staggering 23 lead changes.

AJ Ogilvy's free throws late in the quarter broke yet another deadlock before Blanchfield drilled a three in the closing seconds to give Sydney a 44-43 half-time lead.

The third period was much of the same, with Newley and Ellis driving the Kings to a 65-64 lead with a quarter to play.

Clarke's red-hot shooting ensured Illawarra dominated the final period, leaving Sydney alone at the bottom of the ladder.

"We're gutted with the result, but we saw some good things happening out there," Sydney coach Andrew Gaze said.

"For 85 or 90 per cent of the game it was a contest, but they were the better team down the stretch.

"It's very easy to get down and second-guess ourselves, but we've just gotta keep putting the work in. We have to rally the troops and keep everyone's sprits and motivation high."

The Kings don't play another home game until November 30th with the purple & gold on the road against Melbourne United on Saturday, the first game of a three game road trip. While the Hawks are also in enemy territory with Saturday night's game against the Sixers in Adelaide.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 93 (Clarke 29, Kay 17, Conger 10, Norton 10)
SYDNEY KINGS 83 (Ellis 19, Newley 18, Blanchfield 14)
Crowd: 7'210 at Qudos Bank Arena

Catch live NBL on SWR Sport this season! Our next broadcast is November 16th at 7pm as the Illawarra Hawks and Sydney Kings close out their season series at the WIN Entertainment Centre

The Western Sydney Wanderers have opened their W-League account with a Adelaide United 2-1 at Marconi Stadium on Friday night.
A last-minute goal by Rosie Sutton secured the win for the Red & Black, breaking the deadlock between goals by L'oeau LaBonta and Makenzy Doniak.
Goalkeeper Jada Whyman returned to the team after being in camp with the Young Matildas and was immediately called into action to make a solid save to deny Adelaide with the opener. 
Lee Falkon had one of the first chances for the Red & Black firing a cross that was collected by goalkeeper Eliza Campbell.
A loose ball on the edge of the box saw the Wanderers jump into the lead with LaBonta pouncing and firing past Campbell.

Whyman did well to tip an initial shot by Doniak but the American's second attempt saw her curl her shot into the back of the net, levelling the score. 
The Red & Black had a number of chances in the second half to break the deadlock with Ellie Brush trying her luck from 25-yards out and Marlous Pieëte weaving her way through United's defence.
LaBonta looked to have almost scored a double after a goalkeeper error saw the ball fed back to the Wanderers and LaBonta firing from distance.


The 91st minute saw Sutton break the deadlock. 
Kahlia Hogg's free-kick from the edge of the box took a deflection with Sutton slamming it home to snatch the three points for the Wanderers. 
The result sees the Wanderers secure their first win of the season at their very first home match and will be looking to repeat the result next Friday night at Marconi Stadium when they host Brisbane Roar. 

SOURCE: 
​www.wswanderersfc.com.au
Hear all the action of the Wanderers and Brisbane Roar in the W-League live and exclusively on SWR Sport this Friday Night at 7:15pm