Game Preview: Taipans v Bullets

The Cairns Convention Centre will set the stage for the first Queensland derby of the season, as the Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans face the Brisbane Bullets for their home opener.

When the Taipans enter the Convention Centre for the first time of their 2025-26 campaign, they'll be looking to build upon Adam Forde's 4-1 record for opening home games as a Head Coach (including his time in Sydney).

As the side makes their debut at home, it'll be Andrew Andrews debut in orange after the American was cleared for action, while Mawot Mag will need to wait until Sunday for his first appearance.

Where and When

Friday, September 26 at the Cairns Convention Centre (7:30pm AEST)

How to Follow

Watch: Live on ESPN

Live Updates: Taipans X

Stats: Box Score

What’s Already Happened

Round 1 Results 

New Zealand Breakers (95) v Brisbane Bullets (104)

South East Melbourne Phoenix (114) v Cairns Taipans (77)

Preparing to make it a third straight win in their home opener, Cairns will need to bounce back from their 37-point loss last weekend, which would break their largest bounce back win to open a campaign in franchise history.

Against the Phoenix, it was a tale of two halves for the side who initially struggled to get up to speed in the opening half, before showcasing what their potential could be in the second half.

Controlling the rock once they returned from the main break with four turnovers and conceeding only two steals without their starting point guard, the Taipans were able to keep pace with South East with Reyne Smith lighting it up from range.

Draining four triples throughout the night, the guard joined Joe Ingles and Patty Mills as the only Aussies to debut in the league across the last 35 years with at least four made three-pointers, with Smith also tied for the most triples made in a game across the opening round.

Across the ditch, Brisbane opened their campaign with a nine-point win over New Zealand in a tight tussle, with 26 lead changes and neither side able to stretch the margin past 12 points.

Opening their nights strongly, both lineups shot the ball at over 50%, however turnovers cost the Breakers with 16 lost possessions allowing the Bullets to capitalise on their strong shooting performance.

As both Cairns and Brisbane enter their first double-header of the season, the Bullets will be looking to break a streak that has developed over their time in the Far North.

Over their last four visits to the Cairns Convention Centre after a win, Brisbane has lost on each trip, with their overall record at the venue sitting at six wins from 17 visits since rejoining the league.

Player to Watch

Stepping onto his new home court for the first time, Jack McVeigh will be wanting to repeat his heroics from his final season as a JackJumper in front of the Orange Army. Nailing a buzzer beater in overtime, the forward silenced the Cairns Convention Centre, but with the tables turned he's set to bring the Cairns Convention Centre to life.

Putting up 18 and nine points across his two pre-season games, McVeigh only trailed Reyne Smith for scoring in their matchup with the Phoenix in Round 1 with the pair contributing nearly half of Cairns' points in their season opener.

Facing off with the Boomer is Casey Prather, who after returning to the league for his seventh season led Brisbane's scoring in their own opening game, as he put up 27 points in New Zealand. However, as the American prepares for his eleventh game in Cairns, he'll be entering a venue where he's averaged only 12.8 points at.

What’s Been Said

Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde:

"This will be a practice session where we want to see a response. There were a lot of things that we can sit here and make excuses, but we're not going to because it's nothing to do with who was in and who wasn't. We had a plan in place that wasn't executed, and a large responsibility falls on me to assume that we were where we should be, when we're not.

"We can say that our pre-season was a little disrupted, but there's been a lot of teams that have had a disruptive pre-season. We can say it's because of injuries, but a lot of teams have had injuries. We've changed our import, so did South East. So if the excuses aren't good enough for other teams, they're not going to be good enough for us.

"There are definitely areas for Reyne to work on, but for a guy that didn't play any of the pre-season games and virtually had two and a half real practices with us, that's probably what stood out in the sense that he was able to do what he did. And it shows you the level of talent that we do have at our disposal, but it's important now that my main job it to get all five, all 10, all 12 guys operating on that same page."

Taipans guard Andrew Andrews:

"Right now I'm just happy to be here as I've been in the air for a very long time. I know that we play on Friday, but I'm just excited to meet the guys first and foremost and meet the coaching staff.

"I'm just looking to bring some experience to the squad. I've scored the ball and assisted the ball in Europe at a high level, so I'll look to do the same things here. I know it's a big league – a strong up and coming league – so I'm excited to have an impact.

"I've watched our team a little. Obviously it was the first game and it's a long season, so it's very tough to kind of pick apart a team on one game for such a long season. I think we have a lot of changing faces and a lot of new things going on, so we understand it's a process and I'm just getting here now too.

"I mean, the goal is for me to play, but we have to see how clearance and all that stuff goes. But I would love to play, so if I get clear then I'll be on the floor."

The Lineups

Taipans

PG – Andrew Andrews / Kyle Adnam / Lachlan Barker

SG – Reyne Smith / Kody Stattmann / Lloyd McVeigh

SF – Admiral Schofield / Alex Higgins-Titsha

PF – Jack McVeigh / Kyrin Galloway

C – Marcus Lee / Jed Richardson

Bullets

PG – Jaylen Adams / Mitch Norton

SG – Javon Freeman-Liberty / Taine Murray

SF – Sam McDaniel / Alex Ducas

PF – Casey Prather / Jack Purchase / Callum Dalton

C – Tyrell Harrison / Tohi Smith-Milner

Ins and Outs

Taipans

Ins – Andrew Andrews, Lachlan Barker, Lloyd McVeigh, Jed Richardson

Outs – Mawot Mag (toe), Sam Waardenburg (ankle)

Bullets

Ins – Tad Dufelmeier, Callum Dalton

Outs – Mitch Norton (knee), Jacob Holt (injured)