Cairns Taipans

"Yeah, we ran out of gas." Cairns Taipans coach Adam Forde said his players have had 4 days off in the last 32. So despite giving up 27 offensive rebounds, he'll keep the 4 practices before New Zealand lighter: "I'm not going to smash them with rebounding drills."

Jack McVeigh and Keanu Pinder are "very ill" and being isolated from the group, Cairns coach Adam Forde said. Neither got out of bed for 48 hours, yet both played about 20 minutes. He said they "shouldn't have played." Illness has also hit Forde and the team manager.

Shaun Bruce needs managing, Cairns Taipans coach Adam Forde said, so 17-year-old Luke Paul faces "an increased expectation" to run point. About half a dozen players have nagging issues Forde called nothing major, which he wants to stop turning into "big things".

No fitness concerns for the Cairns Taipans ahead of their trip to Melbourne to face South East Melbourne. After a week of rest on a short turnaround, Will Lopez said "everybody's fighting fit and healthy."

Luke Paul, 17, missed a big chunk of the Cairns Taipans' preseason but has caught up quickly in his first two games, Will Lopez said: "I think he'll only get better and better every kind of minute he's on the floor."

Reyne Smith is taking on a bigger, more aggressive role for the Cairns Taipans, and he credits a healthy offseason and getting his reps back: "being healthy over the offseason... trying to help me come over here and be a bit more aggressive."

"This is a real example of a sink or swim type situation, and right now he's swimming." Cairns coach Adam Forde on Luke Paul, 17, thrown into his first away game by an early injury. Paul is being paired with another ball handler to share running the offense.

Forward Keanu Pinder brought the ball up for the Cairns Taipans against Illawarra, with all five players spread out around the three-point line. Coach Adam Forde said the switch came because Illawarra "did a good job pressuring our guards."

Why Jaylon Brown sat at the end of the Cairns Taipans bench late in the game: a contact lens. "My contact came out. I got smacked in the face and it just popped out my eye," Brown said postgame.

Luke Paul made his Cairns Taipans debut after an ankle injury on day three of preseason, with his minutes still limited. Adam Forde: "we had the minutes planned to sort of keep him to 5 to 8, and just because he was doing so well, I think that extended out to 11."

Jonah Bolden started the second half for Cairns Taipans over Reyne Smith, moving Keanu Pinder to power forward and Bolden to centre. Coach Adam Forde said it answered Brisbane's 22 rebounds off their own misses, not Smith: "it wasn't anything negative that Reyne did."

Same starting five for the Cairns Taipans, even though Adam Forde had said a change needed to happen. His reason: "they had a great practice... I trust them to start again." He owned his errors against New Zealand: "we went to a middle-long ball team and that's not our style."

Cairns Taipans were without Shaun Bruce; Adam Forde gave no timeline. Jaylon Brown, Reyne Smith and Malique Lewis covered point guard. Luke Paul is "penciled in for the 8th" but building confidence in his ankle; Forde hopes for 5-8 minutes, depending on Bruce's timeline.

Jack McVeigh can move to small forward beside Jonah Bolden, said Cairns Taipans coach Adam Forde, who called Bolden his best rebounder this season. McVeigh also challenged Forde at the airport to stick to the preseason identity. His reply: "oh, you're 100% right."