We have a Friday night double-header to look forward to in Round 3 of the NBL27 season, with the first matchup seeing the Illawarra Hawks battle the Adelaide 36ers. The Hawks have had a disastrous start to the season and it doesn’t get any easier with superstar Bryce Cotton coming to town.
Check out our Hawks vs 36ers preview below and head to our NBL tips page for tips for every match this season!
Illawarra Hawks vs Adelaide 36ers Prediction and Betting Tips: NBL27 Round 3
Desperate Times in the Gong
The Illawarra Hawks return to the WIN Entertainment Centre on Friday night in desperate need of a circuit breaker. Sitting at 0-3 after a disastrous opening stretch, Justin Tatum's squad is leaking points at an alarming rate. Following losses to New Zealand and Brisbane, the Hawks were utterly dismantled 121-100 by the Sydney Kings on Sunday. While Kelan Martin and Sam Froling battled hard to drop 21 points each against the Kings, and Kyle Adnam provided a 17-point spark off the bench, the defensive structures around them are completely falling apart. Compounding their on-court woes is a growing casualty ward, with Mason Peatling awaiting scans on a foot injury and Todd Blanchfield sidelined indefinitely with a broken finger, leaving a roster that already cut import Darius Days looking incredibly thin.
Cotton's Kingdom
The Adelaide 36ers arrive in New South Wales boasting a 2-1 record and looking incredibly dangerous. Now in his second season with the club, Bryce Cotton is completely dominating the half-court offence. The superstar guard dropped 29 points in an opening win over Melbourne, backed it up with 37 in a heartbreaking one-point loss to Perth, and cruised to 25 points in an 83-69 home victory over Cairns last Sunday. Surrounding Cotton is a lethal inside-outside combination, with Nick Rakocevic controlling the paint for 21 points and 12 rebounds against the Taipans, while Zylan Cheatham and John Jenkins provide elite wing support.
The Verdict
Taking the 36ers at this line is the obvious play, mainly because fading Illawarra is the only sensible move until they prove they can actually string consecutive defensive stops together. The Hawks are getting torn apart in screen actions right now, and serving up those exact vulnerabilities to a red-hot Bryce Cotton is a recipe for disaster. Justin Tatum has a mountain of work to do to fix his team's defensive discipline, and there is simply no quick fix for the kind of fundamental lapses we saw against Sydney. Expect Adelaide to get whatever they want offensively and cover the line.
Adelaide 36ers -5.5
$1.97 (1.5 Units)
Hawks vs 36ers Dabble Pick‘Em
We’ve put together a 3-Leg Dabble Pick’Em for the Hawks vs 36ers clash that you can follow via the link below! You can also learn more about Dabble’s Pick’Em feature here.
Sam Froling - Over 13.5 Points
Nick Rakocevic - Over 17.5 Points
Kelan Martin - Over 14.5 Points
Dabble Pick‘Em Odds Multiplier: 6.5x ($10 to win $65) - Click here to get involved!
Hawks vs 36ers Betting Odds & Match Info
Date: Friday, October 2nd, 2026
Time: 7:30pm AEDT
Location: Win Entertainment Centre, Wollongong
Odds: Hawks $2.75 vs 36ers $1.45
Line: +5.5
Points: 185.5
Where to Watch Hawks vs 36ers
You can watch the Hawks vs 36ers live and ad-free on Kayo Sports.
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