DrinkWise Preview: Hungry Jack’s NBL26 - Round 1, Game 2 v New Zealand Breakers

After starting the Hungry Jack’s NBL26 season with a thrilling road victory on Thursday evening, we are set to play in front of a packed out John Cain Arena on Sunday afternoon.

Facing off against New Zealand, we will look to restore a favourable trend which saw the team win nine-straight home games against the Trans-Tasman rivals, before dropping our lone game to the Breakers on our floor last season.

For the visitors, they will be searching for their first win of the season, having gone down on Saturday in Auckland to the Brisbane Bullets by nine points.

WHAT’S THE WORD?

Right after the win over the JackJumpers, Head Coach Dean Vickerman was already thinking about what it’s going to take to beat the Breakers. 

A team capable of pushing the pace, Vickerman stressed the importance of our depth, while also previewing the significance of playing our first game in front of our home fans, especially for the new faces to the club.

“New Zealand are playing at a really high pace right now, so we’re going to have to keep shifting bodies and trust our depth,” Vickerman explained.

“Looking forward to getting back to John Cain Arena, hopefully we get a packed house there and all our guys that debuted tonight (Thursday), get them to have their first experience at John Cain Arena with Melbourne United, it’s going to be special.”

New Zealand Head Coach, Petteri Koponen, said he is weary of our ability on the defensive end, and knows it will take a stronger performance than what his side produced on Friday evening to pick up the road win.

“We didn’t play well… we couldn’t find our rhythm,” Koponen said.

“Taking care of the ball and making some shots, that would help, but Melbourne, they’ve been very good during the preseason. How they play, (they are) defensively solid, all five players at the same time… it’s going to be another challenge.”

WHO’S HOT, WHO'S NOT

While Milton Doyle’s late-game heroics stole the show against Tasmania, the game was won on the glass, where we dominated for all 40 minutes.

Fabijan Krslovic tallied a career-high 12 rebounds, Jesse Edwards started his NBL tenure with a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double, and Finn Delany did his part, pulling down eight boards of his own.

This will play a massive factor tomorrow night in showing the Breakers down, who, led by Parker Jackson-Cartwright, are always looking to crash the glass and get out on the fast break.

Jackson-Cartwright tallied 16 points and 12 assists against the Bullets, finishing the game as the only New Zealand player with a positive plus/minus (+10).

GAME INFO

Who: Melbourne United vs New Zealand Breakers

Tip-off: 2:30pm AEST, Sunday 21 September, 2025

Where: John Cain Arena, Melbourne

Watch: Channel 10, Disney+ and Kayo

Tickets: Available via Ticketek