The WheelKings have a tough double this weekend, firstly facing a rematch against the West Sydney Razorbacks at Bankstown Basketball Stadium on Saturday (7th June) at 3pm, then taking on the Wollongong Highlube Roller Hawks at home on Sunday at 11am.

The Razorbacks have been bolstered by the return from Europe of Darren Skuse who will take a lot of the scoring and rebounding load off the glass-eating Troy Sachs. On paper, they'll be stronger than the team that beat the WheelKings 70-62 in round 1 and have to be favourites to win on their home court.

Conversely, the WheelKings are way understrength with Bill Latham still in Spain; Liesl Tesch, Kylie Gauci and Tina McKenzie in the USA playing for the Gliders (coach Hewson is also away with the national team); and rookie Ricky Engles deciding to withdraw from the team to concentrate on his wheelchair tennis career. That would have left just 6 players for the weekend and, because of the points classification system, an inability to make substitutions except for Koen Jansens and Jeremy Van Asperen swapping for each other. This would have meant a key big always on the bench and would have given the Pigs a significant advantage. However, in a very pleasing turn of events, former WheelKings 1.0 pointer Chris Nicholls has stepped into the breach and now gives assistant coach Alan Cox the opportunity to rotate all players.

The WheelKings expect solid games from top scorer Jansens, and their efficient low-pointers Shannon Dallas and Jeremy Doyle. The key to the win is the need for big games from Van Asperen, Jonathon Simon and Craig Cannane (who played very well in the first outing). They have to nullify the size advantage of Sachs, Skuse and Nick Taylor by boxing out on rebounds. That was the difference in the first game and diminished what was an otherwise excellent defensive effort in forcing bad shots by the Pigs. Also, if the lads this time finish off their easy shot opportunities, they could come away with a much-needed road win.

There will be little time to reflect on the result against the Razorbacks as Wenty head into their second match of the weekend against the talented Wollongong on Sunday morning. The Hawks are led by Australian representatives Tristan Knowles and Brett Stibners, and they'll be introducing an exciting young import, 3.0 pointer Jesus Romero Martin from Spain.

Again, the outcome of the match depends less on the opposition than whether Wenty turns up with their 'A' game. Given the less than ideal pre-season preparation, inconsistency is to be expected. Hopefully, the WheelKings can improve from game to game as the season progresses but this game, although relatively early in the season, will be a strong indicator of both team's finals chances.

(photos: Noel Rowsell)