August: President's Address

What a difference a couple of weeks makes! We’ve finally been able to roll out the full list of players - and I hope you’re just as excited for the 2025-26 NBL season as we are.

A few weeks ago I said that once the cards started to fall, they’d be big and they’d fall fast - and that’s exactly what happened. In my opinion, this is the strongest team we’ve ever built, not by luck or timing, but by design.

With teams in past seasons (think 2014-15 and 2019-20) we’ve had some great results thanks to players clicking and recruitment falling into place. But this time, every single signing was intentional. Every role, every skill set, every personality has been chosen to create a team we can’t wait to unleash on court. 

Key Dates for Your Calendar:

• Pre-season home game: Sunday 24 August - Cairns Basketball
• Single game tickets: Monday 25 August
• First regular season home game: Friday 26 September - Cairns Convention Centre

Memberships have been flying out the door since our roster announcement, so now is the time to secure your seat to ensure you get the best available! Especially before single-game tickets go on sale next Monday.

We’ve also got two pre-season games in Melbourne next week on Tuesday and Thursday. Get our full pre-season schedule HERE that features five games this year. 

While we won’t have our full roster for the Melbourne matches, you’ll see the whole team in town for our 24 August clash and at the NBL Blitz in Canberra. Remember, pre-season is all about preparation - our top priority is being at peak form for the regular season tip-off.

As part of that preparation, Fordey was gracious enough to provide us with the latest details of player plans: 

From Head Coach Adam Forde re: Player Availability

Sam Waardenburg: After a long season in Puerto Rico (76 games in 10 months!) he will take a well-earned two-week break
Jack McVeigh & Reyne Smith: Following NBA Summer League and FIBA Asia Cup, both will have one week off before returning to play
Ashton Hagans & Admiral Schofield: Awaiting visa clearance
Marcus Lee: Already in Cairns training, also awaiting visa clearance

That's the latest. It’s going to be a big year -  and we can’t wait to share it with you.

Troy Stone
Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans President