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THIS WEEK'S TIPS - NBL & WNBL

ROLLING back to full potency, Perth will be hellbent on erasing the home loss to the Crocs when it hits Townsville. Even without The Beast (quad soreness) there will be no Trevor Gleeson love for his former club who will have too many guns now Casey Prather and Damo are back in action. Just FYI, Damo had eight assists in 16 minutes last game.

ADELAIDE opened its season belting New Zealand 90-71 but that was a Breakers outfit without Corey Webster, Thomas Abercrombie and Alex Pledger. Things have changed for this return bout and with 36ers captain Adam Gibson somewhat hobbled, it's tough to picture a second Sixers upset.

THE Kings have had a few days to see if they can right their season against a Melbourne team which buried them on Sunday with a Chris Goulding-inspired first quarter barrage. In Sydney, don't expect the result to be greatly different, although the margin should be tighter.

AT home, Cairns beat Illawarra to open its season but the Hawks have Kevin Lisch back now after he took a (fair) hit early in that opener which sidelined him. The Taipans will be loving life again after Markel Starks' game-winner over Adelaide but the Hawks will be anxious to bounce back from their Jungle mauling. This should be a gem, especially in Gordie McLeod's homecoming to Wollongong as a key member of Aaron Fearne's coaching staff. Hawks at home.

LIFE won't be any easier for Townsville at Perth, the two teams having a chance to bond playing UNO on the flights from Queensland to WA. While the Crocs may prefer to play SNAP, on court and with a hostile home crowd and Jawai back, Townsville will be struggling to keep this one close.

BY now, Al Harrington will have found the pace of the NBL, meaning Adelaide will bear the brunt of what the 1,036-NBA gamer has left in the tank when Sydney hits The Fortress. The match will be their 100th as Sixers for Brendan Teys and Anthony Petrie and Adelaide's 1,000th game as "the 36ers". Will all that make any difference? No. Will the 36ers win? Yes.

THE match of the round should conclude it when New Zealand hits Melbourne for only the second genuine threat to United's winning streak. The prospect of super-shooters Chris Goulding and Corey Webster putting on a show is tantalising but the battles of players such as Majok Majok with Mika Vukona, Stephen Holt against Cedric Jackson, Todd Blanchfield against Tom Abercrombie ... there is much to enthrall. With Hakim Warrick missing for United, the Breakers are deeper and can win, depending on which version of Dean Vickerman's team shows up.

THE Flames were unlucky to lose on the road to SEQ in overtime and even though Renee Montgomery now has settled in at Canberra, Sydney holds the aces here. Carolyn Swords also has had time now to acclimatise suggesting it is 0-7 coming up for the Caps.

AFTER beating Canberra and Townsville, Melbourne will hit Dandenong full of confidence in what looms as the match of the round between the Victorian heavyweights. Tess Madgen and Elyse Penaluna are having great seasons but so too is Larissa Anderson in the Rangers chair. Time-outs even make sense! This is very close to call but maybe Dandenong at home.

FOR Bendigo (above), its trip west was a mixed bag, beating Perth, dropping to Adelaide. Players looked listless and entitled against Lightning and suffered a rude shock. Having already lost to SEQ on the road and with a chance to beat the league leader, this looms as a Spirit surprise.

SINCE dropping at home to Bendigo, Townsville has been ruthless at RSL Stadium but Sydney has weapons Canberra and Adelaide did not. Batkovic-Swords will be a great duel and Cocks-Tupaea also looms largely. Mia Murray will cause Sydney match-up issues and Cayla George is travelling well too. In a hot one, the Fire should come through.

NO-ONE will come into Adelaide cocky again and certainly not Perth, which lost to the Bendigo team Lightning beat last round. Adelaide played a sizzling defensive game and if it can repeat that, this will be tight too, the battle of Rio Olympics-bound point guards Mitchell and Lavey a bonus. Lynx to sneak in through their Tomlinson-Burton "twin towers".

SEQ at Melbourne presents the Boomers another shot at playoff legitimacy and should be a gem of a contest. Rachel Jarry has been getting it done for the Stars and playing her former club in Melbourne adds spice to this. At home, the odds slightly favour Melbourne but this will be close.

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