Preview: NBL26 R2 Away v Cairns Taipans

The Brisbane Bullets have the first three games of NBL26 on the road and will be attempting to keep the momentum going after an impressive start this Friday night in a Sunshine Stoush with the Cairns Taipans.

There's always some added spice any time the two Queensland teams in the NBL take on one another and this Friday night will be no different with the game getting underway at 7:30pm at Cairns Convention Centre.

Both teams couldn’t have had more contrasting starts to the new season last  weekend either with the Bullets looking to keep their momentum going and the Snakes trying to hit back in front of their home fans.

The Bullets began the season last Friday night at Auckland's Spark Arena and put in a strong performance to beat the New Zealand Breakers 104-95.

The only downside was a knee injury suffered by captain Mitch Norton, but plenty of players had standout performances for the Bullets led by imposing big man Tyrell Harrison with 24 points and 15 rebounds with 8/11 shooting from the field and 8/8 at the foul line.

He had plenty of strong help too including Casey Prather ending up with 27 points with 4/8 three-point shooting, Javon Freeman-Liberty 17 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Jaylen Adams 14 points, seven assists and five steals.

Sam McDaniel also showed his importance with 10 points and five rebounds with NBL debutant and NBA championship winner Alex Ducas contributing 10 points and three assists.

In contrast, it wasn’t the start to NBL26 that the Taipans were hoping for when they suffered a 37-point defeat on Saturday night on the road to the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

There were still positives for the Snakes with debutant Reyne Smith showing why there was such excitement over his signing with 19 points and 4/8 three-point shooting while gun recruit Jack McVeigh had 18 points, three rebounds and three assists.

Cairns will now also gain the services of import point guard Andrew Andrews for Friday night's Sunshine Stoush against the Bullets.

Stu Lash has a perfect record now after one game coaching the Bullets in the NBL but he is just focused on one task at a time, and that's on making sure his team can keep the momentum going now to start the season away from home.

"For a long time I didn’t even know who we played after New Zealand because I'm really just somebody that's focused on the next game, but it's not lost on me that we have three in-a-row to start on the road," Lash said.

"I think we also have six out of our first eight that are on the road but I'd rather have it early and I think it's an opportunity for our guys to continue to build chemistry and rapport.

"We've also got a lot of young dads on the team so they get to have a good night's sleep when we're on the road, and wake up with good energy feeling good about themselves and there's nothing better to bring you together than a road win."

GAME INFO

Who: Brisbane Bullets vs Cairns Taipans

Tip off: 7:30pm (AEST), Friday 26 September, 2025

Where: Cairns Convention Centre

Watch: ESPN via Foxtel, Disney+, Kayo and Fetch