Saturday, 29th August, 2009

In their last game of the regular season, Wenty played well against second-placed Wollongong Roller Hawks tonight to record a 86-70 win at Shellharbour Stadium. The result won't move third-placed Wenty into second spot unless Wollongong lose to Adelaide tomorrow - an unlikely outcome.

Wollongong aren't happy that their finals preparation has been disrupted by the absence of Yvon Rouillard who is currently representing Canada in the Tournament of the Americas. He'll be back for the finals, however, the most disappointing news was that Tristan Knowles' European club wouldn't let him stay in Australia for the last 2 rounds and the finals, instead insisting that he head over there to play the pre-season.

The WheelKings took full advantage of the Hawks in their weakened state to set up the win in the first quarter with a 26-10 lead which they extended to 44-25 at the half. Coach Hewson went to the bench in the third quarter and the subs paced Wollongong to maintain a solid 63-48 lead going into the final period where the WheelKings coasted to the 16 point victory.

Jon Pollock was terrific with 37 points and 12 assists. Bill Latham got in the action with 17 points and 16 rebounds, and Koen Jansens was tidy with 15 points and 11 boards. Brett Stibners had another good game for the Hawks with 27 points and 15 rebounds, and he'll be relied upon to do even more in the coming finals.

Wenty head into the finals in 2 weeks time on a 4 game winning streak including wins over finals opponents Wollongong and Sydney Razorbacks. They should be confident that a grand final spot against the Perth Wheelcats is well within their grasp.