DrinkWise Preview: NBL26 - Round 6, Game 1 v Cairns Taipans

Having put together a perfect start to the 2025-26 NBL season, Friday night presents an opportunity to build on our 7-0 record when we face the Cairns Taipans on the road.

Across our last three outings against the snakes, we have been dominant, registering three double-digit wins by an average margin of 29.3 points per game.

For Cairns, a five-game losing streak has the team searching for some momentum as they look to get their season back on track.

WHAT’S THE WORD?

Ever-weary of the challenge any road game presents, Dean Vickerman broke down how running the Taipans off the three-point line will be a key to bringing home a victory.

“It’s always a different challenge when you go up to Cairns,” Vickerman said. 

“We’ve been exceptional on the road at the moment and whatever challenges have presented themselves to this group, they’ve been pretty relaxed with it.

“They (Cairns) shoot a lot of threes, it wouldn’t take them much to hit those at a really high level. We think with Jesse’s protection of the rim and our ability to close out long and make them bounce it is going to be one of the keys to the game.”

Cairns Head Coach, Adam Forde, is hoping to see more consistency from his group on Friday as they look to end their five-game skid.

“It’s a roll of the dice, sometimes the starters are good and the bench isn’t, sometimes vice-versa,” he said. 

“Tonight (Wednesday night’s 78-110 loss to Perth) was an example of no one really stepping up to the mark to get it done, and it showed in the scoreline.”

WHO’S HOT, WHO'S NOT

With one win over the Taipans on the books already, our guys will be hoping for another well-rounded performance on Friday evening.

When we hosted Cairns in Round 5, Chris Goulding and Jesse Edwards each tallied 16 points to lead the team, while 12 of our 13 players to hit the court scored.

Unfortunately for the Taipans, they did not get as cohesive an offensive performance, with only two players reaching double-figure point totals.

This also came with the team’s leading scorer, Jack McVeigh, in the lineup. The sharpshooter will miss Friday night’s game with a hand injury.

GAME INFO

Who: Melbourne United vs Cairns Taipans

Tip-off: 7:30pm AEDT, Friday 24 October, 2025

Where: Cairns Convention Centre, Cairns

Watch: ESPN