'Do not pass go': Hawks win board game against 'unacceptable' Wildcats

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2025 NBL1 West Grand Final MVP Johny Narkle ($69,000) punctuated his return to Western Australia with a breakaway dunk, providing an 11-point spark off the bench as the Illawarra Hawks swooped on Perth in a backs-to-the-wall 105-98 win in Round 7 of NBL27 on Saturday, October 31, 2026 at RAC Arena.

"It was great," Narkle said.

"Obviously, having family come down from Geraldton too to come watch kind of put on a show for them.

"We've got a long road trip coming up. We've got four games on the road, so I think that's a great start to this road trip that we're going to have.

"It feels good, obviously, having the coaches' trust. It makes me play with a lot of confidence, to see the ball go through the hoop a couple of times and obviously getting a few offensive rebounds where I can get my teammates a couple more shots.

"I've only played here three or four times. Every time I come here, I try to have family there, so just try to play for them and obviously, my team. I feel like we did that great tonight."

The Hawks came in 2-8, stuck at the bottom of the ladder, lost the lead at the 4:40 mark of the fourth quarter, but gutted it out down the stretch. American import Kelan Martin ($277,000) had a game-high 23 points off the bench in 26:11 minutes.

"Any win is a great win," Illawarra head coach Justin Tatum said.

"I'm just happy how our boys came out and played. Unselfish. They trust each other, came out with a lot of energy. They were determined to find a way to come win, and we pulled it out. I'm really excited about how we played today.

"I don't normally be nervous of games, but I was nervous today, which, in my opinion, was a good sign for me because I knew my team was going to come out here and be way better than they were the previous weeks.

"We had a really great week of practice. Guys really got on the trust train. They started trusting each other more and figuring stuff out, and you had a really good Hawks team play today.

"It was just competitive nervousness. I'm just excited. Couldn't wait for the game to start."

William Hickey ($331,600) played only two minutes in the Hawks' disappointing 98-81 home loss to Brisbane last week. He responded in a big way, putting up nine points, eight boards and eight assists in 26:15 minutes off the bench.

"Davo was unbelievable tonight," Tatum said.

"We had a hell of a week of practice. I can't let you all the way in, but there were some things that, as you can see, we're a totally different team tonight than we were last weekend.

"It was all about the stuff we had to endure. This is going to be a long season, and everybody, other teams, will understand that.

"We don't want to be great early. We want to hit adversity, which we've been hitting, and we want to find a way to get out of it together.

"Davo was a big, significant part of that today, being able to guard the one through the four. Like you said, rebound, assist and make tough shots when he could.

"That's the Davo we knew from two years ago, even from last year. He's a hell of a player, and we're just going to keep going from there."

Wildcats head coach John Rillie didn't wait for the question in the post-game press conference.

"For me, I'm going to hop on it nearly irrespective of what question you guys ask me: it's our rebounding.

"Too many times we have two or three guys in the fight. With who we are as a team, we need five guys, and we just don't get that consistently enough right now.

"I think in the first half it was nine-one in offensive rebounds. They beat us on the glass by 15. Simple: if you rebound at a high level, you give yourself a chance when you can't find the rhythm, like we didn't tonight.

"That was the disappointing thing for me - just our willingness to go pursue the rebound."

The Hawks outrebounded the Wildcats 45-31 and had 25 to 18 assists.

"They beat us in the energy, one-percenters, finding the loose balls - that's where we got beat tonight," Rillie added.

"We didn't create the urgency as a group. When the staff and I watch film, we're going to have to solve the rebounding issue."

Perth rookie guard Anthony Dell'Orso ($100,000), who finished with a team-high 21 points off the bench, echoed his head coach.

"I just don't think we're rebounding," Dell'Orso said.

"I don't think we have five guys in the fight at all times.

"Maybe guys - me included - get worried about missing shots or the play before, or something like that. I think we've just got to go back to playing fundamental basketball: rebounding, passing the ball ahead, getting layups.

"I don't really see much difference that we've had from winning to losing other than rebounding. I had one - just unacceptable.

"I'm six-foot-six. There's no reason why I should have one rebound.

"None of us rebounded, really. (Dylan) Windler rebounded, but I've got to help out, especially as a guard.

"Not many guards go to the boards, so I've got essentially free rebounds almost every possession. I've got to go help our bigs and help in the fight, because they've got some big dudes."

Watch

NBL27

Perth Wildcats vs Illawarra Hawks | Round 7 Highlights

Watch the highlights as the Perth Wildcats take on the Illawarra Hawks in Round 7 of NBL27 on October 31, 2026.

What you need to know

• The Illawarra Hawks beat the Perth Wildcats 105-98 at RAC Arena in Round 7 of NBL27, moving to 3-8. Perth are 5-4.
• Illawarra won the first three quarters, 24-19, 27-25 and 27-25, to lead 78-69 at three-quarter time, after being up by as many as 15 in the third. Perth won the fourth 29-27.
• Both top scorers came off the bench. Kelan Martin ($277,000) had 23 on 8-from-15, including 5-from-10 from three, and Anthony Dell'Orso ($100,000) led Perth with 21 on 8-from-16, 14 of them in the fourth.
• Perth went ahead 86-84 with 4:40 left on two Kristian Doolittle ($317,500) free throws, their first lead since 9-8 in the first quarter. Johny Narkle ($69,000) then scored Illawarra's next seven points, a three and a free throw at 4:21 and three free throws at 3:47, and Perth never led again.
• Each side took 30 threes, and Illawarra made 13 to Perth's nine, a 12-point gap in a seven-point game. Illawarra also won the rebounds 45-31, with 16 offensive, which outweighed their 17 turnovers to Perth's eight.

Milestones & Moments

• Perth have lost back-to-back games for the first time in NBL27, both at home, after their 99-91 loss to Sydney on October 28.
• Illawarra are 2-4 on the road and 1-4 at home, with two of their three wins away from home.
• Jesse Wagstaff ($84,700) played his 549th NBL game, one short of 550.
• Dylan Windler ($271,100) had four steals, his NBL27 high and equal to the most by any player in an NBL27 game. He moved to 918 career NBL points, 82 short of 1,000.
• Wani Swaka Lo Buluk ($145,200) scored 15, his NBL27 high, four more than his 11 against Cairns on October 11.
• William Hickey ($331,600) had eight assists, his NBL27 high, one more than his seven against Adelaide on October 2.
• Anthony Dell'Orso scored 21, one short of his NBL27 high of 22 against South East Melbourne on October 2.

Illawarra Hawks

• Kelan Martin ($277,000) top-scored with 23 points off the bench on 8-from-15, including 5-from-10 from three, with 10 in the second quarter.
• Makur Maker ($99,800) added 21 points and five rebounds on 7-from-11, including 2-from-5 from three and 5-from-6 at the line, with nine in the first quarter.
• Wani Swaka Lo Buluk ($145,200) scored 15 on 5-from-8, including 3-from-5 from three, and made two free throws with 13 seconds left.
• Johny Narkle ($69,000) had 11 points, seven rebounds and two steals off the bench in 15 minutes, with nine of the points in the last 4:21, and went 4-from-4 at the line.
• Tyler Harvey ($271,700) had 11 points and seven assists on 4-from-12, and finished plus-12.
• William Hickey ($331,600) had nine points, eight rebounds and eight assists off the bench on 4-from-6.
• Sam Froling ($228,200) had seven points on 3-from-5 in 21 minutes, and his plus-14 was the best on the floor.
• Illawarra shot 37-from-72 from the field, 13-from-30 from three and 18-from-22 at the line, with 45 rebounds, 25 assists and 17 turnovers.

Perth Wildcats

• Anthony Dell'Orso ($100,000) top-scored with 21 points and three steals off the bench on 8-from-16, including 3-from-8 from three, and scored 14 in the fourth.
• Dylan Windler ($271,100) had 19 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two blocks on 7-from-14.
• Kristian Doolittle ($317,500) had 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds on 6-from-13, with no turnovers in 33 minutes.
• Elijah Pepper ($202,700) scored 13 on 6-from-9 in 22 minutes, with three turnovers.
• Brandon Knight ($277,000) had 12 points, four rebounds and four assists on 4-from-13, including 1-from-5 from three, and tied the game at 84-84 with three free throws with 5:41 left.
• Jesse Wagstaff ($84,700) had eight points, four rebounds and two steals off the bench, going 2-from-4 from three, with no turnovers in 21 minutes.
• Angus Brandt ($100,000) had five points on 1-from-3 and went 3-from-3 at the line in 11 minutes.
• Perth shot 36-from-79 from the field, 9-from-30 from three and 17-from-18 at the line, with 31 rebounds, 18 assists and eight turnovers.