Posted on 25 April, 2019

The Kilsyth Cobras return to home court this weekend as they take on the Melbourne Tigers in a big time NBL1 Sunday doubleheader (12pm/2pm).

🎫TICKETS |  📺Women  |  📺Men

The Cobra Men enter Round 4 with a perfect 4-0 mark, following a pair of resounding victories over Bendigo and Ringwood in Round 3. The Cobras ultra-impressive depth has been the catalyst to their blistering start, with seven players averaging at least eight points per contest, lead by Peter Hooley and Isaac Turner’s 18.0 points per game.

A high-profile off-season recruit, Hooley has lived up to the hype in the early going of the NBL1 season, with the combo guard also leading the team in assists (5.2apg) and steals (2.2spg). Fellow first year Cobra Tohi Smith-Milner has been just as impressive, boasting averages of 17.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, while returners Owen Odigie, Chris Patton, Sean MacDonald and Felix von Hofe have continued their strong play from a season ago to help lead Kilsyth to an undefeated start.

A shorthanded Cobra Women’s team stumbled during their Round 3 doubleheader, dropping a pair to Bendigo and Ringwood to fall to 1-3. Without 2018 SEABL MVP Lauren Nicholson (23.5ppg/4.5rpg/4.5apg) – who was at the Australian Opals selection camp on the Gold Coast –  coach Sam Woosnam’s offence struggled prior to the Easter break, but the superstar guard is set to return to the floor this weekend as the Cobras look to get rolling in 2019.

In Nicholson’s absence, Klara Wischer (13.0ppg/6.5rpg), import Sarah Boothe (11.5ppg/6.7rpg) and Clare Camac (9.5ppg/5.2rpg) dialled in some strong performances, and with Nicholson back in the fold, the Cobras appear set to shake off their early season struggles.

📺 @KilsythCobras 🆚 @Bendigo_Braves Womens Highlights pic.twitter.com/1u59hGkYEE

— NBL1 (@NBL1HQ) April 13, 2019

The Tigers enter Round 4 with 2-2 records for both their Men’s and Women’s teams, with both squads led by a pair of dynamic duos. For the Men, Nic Pozoglou (26.5ppg/10.7rpg/3.5apg) and fellow Cobra Dane Pineau (14.7ppg/14.7rpg) have shouldered the load early on, with Pineau leading the NBL1 in rebounding while Pozoglou currently ranks second in scoring. For the Women, another fellow Cobra – Louella Tomlinson – has been dominant down low, ranking in the league’s top-ten for rebounding (12.2rpg), assists (5.2apg) and blocked shots (2.7bpg). She’s been well supported on the perimeter by rising star Monique Conti, who sits eighth in the league for scoring at 22.5 points per game.

While the Tigers possess impressive top-end talent on both their Men’s and Women’s squads, the Cobras depth and home court crowd should prove difficult to overcome in the back end of a doubleheader weekend.

Sunday’s double follows a key road battle on Saturday night for the Cobra Men and Women, who head to Geelong to take on the Supercats (5.00pm/7.00pm). You can watch Saturday’s games live via the NBL’s official YouTube account.

Cobra Women @ Geelong (5pm tip-off)

Cobra Men @ Geelong (7pm tip-off)