ROUND 6 PREVIEW
Queensland Spinning Bullets v Adelaide Thunder- Friday 18th May @7pm
Queensland Spinning Bullets v Adelaide Thunder- Saturday 19th May @11am
Queensland Spinning Bullets v Adelaide Thunder- Sunday 20th May @10am
In another mini-round for the NWBL, just three games will be played but a spot in the top four at the end of the year could be on the line for the Spinning Bullets and Thunder this weekend.
With a 1-8 record, the Thunder currently sit 13 points outside a playoff spot so even with three victories in Round 6, they will still have work to do in the remaining three rounds of the regular season.
They have the equal-most amount of games left though, alongside Queensland, which means they have time to recover from their slow start and they have also not played since Round 2 so they should be well-rested.
Queensland have not hit the court since Round 3 in early May and since that time, have fallen out of the top four to find themselves in fifth position.
The red-hot form of the Heelers is tightening up the race to the top four as well but having only played nine games, the Spinning Bullets do not need to panic yet as a sweep of the weekend could move them into second spot.
However, the Rollers are warming up for the IWBF World Championships in August by travelling to Japan for a friendly four-nation series this week and that means Queensland will be without Tom O’Neill-Thorne.
One of their strongest attributes this season has been their depth and Round 6 will truly test the Spinning Bullets' full roster as O’Neill-Thorne has been averaging 24.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, 7.7 assists per game this year.
Six other players still average over seven points per contest for Queensland though while three collect over five rebounds per game and five players tally more than two assists but alongside O'Neill-Thorne, Steven Elliott and Matt McShane will also miss these three games.
The Thunder have five players averaging over seven points per contest, led by Luke Watkins’ 16.7 points but he did not play in Round 3 and without him, the Thunder have less avenues to the basket but with Adam Roocke and Phillip Stevens, the Thunder will back themselves to make the most of Queensland's absent players this weekend.
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