Touching down in the nation’s capital, it will be the club's strongest side fielded across their pre-season thus far, with Jack McVeigh and Admiral Schofield both entering action for their first time as Taipans.

Joining them will be newly signed development players Lloyd McVeigh and Jed Richardson and nominated replacement player Lachlan Barker also with the squad, as both Ashton Hagans and Reyne Smith will both not hit the court in Canberra.

Where and When

Thursday, August 28 at the AIS Arena, Canberra (8:00pm AEST)

How to Follow

Watch: Live on Disney+ and Kayo

Live Updates: Taipans X

Stats: Box Score

What’s Already Happened

First hitting the court nine days ago against South East Melbourne, this will be Cairns’ fourth warm up to the regular season after also facing Melbourne and Brisbane since then.

Utilising their bench unit during their Victorian trip, it was a great opportunity for Adam Forde to showcase the depth of his roster with the entire lineup seeing action across the 80 minutes of basketball.

Preparing for his first year on the roster after spending last season as a development player, Alex Higgins-Titsha averaged 12.5 points and nine rebounds across the two contests, with fellow forward Kyrin Galloway putting up 24 points and nine boards against United.

Galloway slams it AGAIN 💪

🔴 LIVE on https://t.co/AxDGjcTiom pic.twitter.com/KkwSwu0I2Z
— Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) August 21, 2025

Despite missing their entire starting lineup when they faced rosters approaching full strength, Cairns won the final three quarters of their matchup against Melbourne and fell three points short in the second half against the Phoenix, even though they lost the games by 25- and 22-points.

Returning home that weekend to face their Queensland rivals, it was once more only a glimpse at the potential of the Taipans roster, with Sam Waardenburg the only starter to see the court with 12 minutes of action.

Steering the ship for this battle was Kody Stattmann with his 20 points, whilst Galloway continued his strong performances and Marcus Lee made an impressive debut in orange.

Taking part in two pre-season games themselves – both against Sydney – Tasmania are also entering the Blitz after fielding limited lineups in their fixtures so far.

Falling to Sydney by four points in their first matchup, it was a strong first appearance for imports Bryce Hamilton and David Johnson who combined for 30 points and 12 rebounds – with Hamilton also grabbing three steals and a block, whilst Johnson shot six of eight from range.

Returning two nights later to fall by 10 points to the Kings, Hamilton continued his scoring display with 21 points alongside six boards, two assists and three steals, with former-36er turned JackJumper Nick Marshall putting up 19 of his own points.

Player to Watch

After announcing his return to the NBL at the start of the month, Jack McVeigh’s first game as a Taipan will be against the club with whom he won an NBL championship.

Despite Tasmania’s Head Coach Scott Roth stating that he’s not concerned with the matchup and that he’s more focused on his own players, all eyes will be on the forward when he matches up with former teammates Majok Deng and Will Magnay.

The 2022 Ray Borner medallist will also have his first taste of action alongside Sam Waardenburg at the tournament, with the duo entering the season as potentially one of the deadliest combinations in the league – and with the perimeter threat of Admiral Schofield also alongside them.

Jack Mcveigh steps back and drains the tough triple ☄️

The @JackJumpers lead @NZBreakers with two minutes to play in the fourth, 83-78 🐜

Watch every game live & free via Kayo Freebies 📺

Outside Australia? Watch via ➡️ https://t.co/8LoWsbR7E4 pic.twitter.com/7Tk1OHDqtb
— NBL (@NBL) September 19, 2023

What’s Been Said

Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde:

“It was important with the main six not available, that I wanted to take what the back seven and eight looked like and get them out of this environment, and get them on the road going up against two very good teams in Melbourne.

“Because the reality is in a 40-minute game, you’re not going to rotate 11 or 12 deep, so it was a good opportunity to sort of see who’s going to take out those last two or three remaining spots in key rotation minutes.

“But even as we sit here and say that we’re looking to see what the rotation of that eight-man rotation would look like, I don’t know if it’s necessarily set because on any given night there’s going to be some guys that want to step up to the mark.

“And that also highlights that this is the first time in a while where we’ve got guys, especially at the back end of the bench, competing for minutes – and consistency will be key.”

Taipans forward Admiral Schofield:

“I’m a versatile player, and I’m a winner. I can shoot the three, can attack the basket, I’m a three-level scorer, but I pride myself in defense and being tough, and not letting our team be punked by any means.

“We had a scrimmage the other day against Brisbane, and it was really encouraging to see our team get better and better by each quarter. We didn’t have everyone out there, but just to see our support group really out there competing and how good they look playing together and we really haven’t been together is really encouraging.

“I think the biggest thing is today and this weekend with the Blitz, is that we’ll get a better chance of understanding how each other will play together, but honestly I’m excited to play with everyone. I think everyone brings a unique piece to the team, and the way it was constructed, we really complement each other.”

The Lineups

Taipans

PG – Kyle Adnam / Lloyd McVeigh

SG – Kody Stattmann / Lachlan Barker

SF – Admiral Schofield / Alex Higgins-Titsha / Mawot Mag

PF – Jack McVeigh / Kyrin Galloway

C – Sam Waardenburg / Marcus Lee / Jed Richardson

JackJumpers

PG – Tyger Campbell / Ben Ayre / Brody Nunn

SG – Bryce Hamilton / Nick Marshall / Nick Stoddart

SF – Daniel Johnson

PF – Josh Bannan / Majok Deng / Archie Woodhill

C – Will Magnay

Ins and Outs

Taipans

Ins – Lloyd McVeigh, Jed Richardson and Lachlan Barker (nominated replacement player)

Outs – Reyne Smith (ankle), Ashton Hagans (unavailable)

JackJumpers

Ins – Brody Nunn and Archie Woodhill

Outs – Anthony Drmic (nose), Kobe Williamson (foot), Sean MacDonald (ACL)

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