Purchase Tickets Here<\/a><\/p>\nLast Time Out:<\/p>\n
The Bulls were on the back foot early against Auckland, conceding a 13-0 start before fighting their way back into the contest. Jace Carter was outstanding, while Derrin Boyd added huge value with an all around game. Late signing Jaylen Gerrand chipped in off the bench, but in the end Franklin could not contain a stretchy and deep Tuatara group that had seven players score in double figures to eventually pull away for a 115-95 win.<\/p>\n
Southland\u2019s opener followed a different path as the Sharks started well while leaning heavily on Sam Timmins, who dominated the opening quarter on his way to a double-double with added rim protection Rylan Jones found his form as the game went along thanks to a high work rate, but a 34-point second quarter from Otago swung the game, and the Sharks could not recover from there. Southland finished with just 68 points and shot 17 percent from three, despite winning the rebounding battle.<\/p>\n
What to Expect:<\/p>\n
Projected Starters<\/p>\n
Franklin Bulls
\nPG:\u00a0 Carter Whitt
\nSG:\u00a0 Derrin Boyd
\nSF:\u00a0 \u00a0Jace Carter
\nPF:\u00a0 Tai Pakaurangi
\nC:\u00a0 \u00a0 Ellis Biggar<\/p>\n
SBS Southland Sharks
\nPG: Rylan Jones
\nSG: Tukaha Cooper
\nSF:\u00a0 Dane Bertinshaw
\nPF:\u00a0 Mac Stoddart
\nC:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Sam Timmins<\/p>\n
Franklin\u2019s starting group has plenty of firepower, even if it is still coming together. Carter looks every bit like the kind of player who can carry an offense for long stretches, Boyd gives the Bulls another proven scorer and secondary creator, and Whitt\u2019s 9 assists in the opener showed how important he will be in keeping the team organised. The concern for Franklin is at the other end, where Auckland shot 53 percent from the field, got 29 assists and grabbed a 10 rebound advantage, the culmination of which exposing how the Bulls need to tighten up defensively.<\/p>\n
The Sharks, while the await multiple starters still overseas, again look as though things will work through Timmins. He was dominant in the opener and enters this game as an early league leader in both scoring and blocked shots. Jones also showed he can provide serious perimeter punch even while he was targeted defensively in the post, but on the whole Southland will need to find offense in the wider supporting cast after getting just 18 combined points from the rest of the lineup against Otago.<\/p>\n
This result may come down to which team can better impose its preferred style. Franklin showed it can score, especially from deep, knocking down 14 threes in its opener. Southland, by contrast, was far more reliant on interior production and second-chance opportunities. If the Bulls get another big perimeter night from Carter, Boyd and support from Gerrand and co., they will feel they can stretch the Sharks out. If Southland can make this a more physical, paint-oriented contest through Timmins (and Max Darling if he is fully recovered from injury) while taking the rebounding battle, it has a path to securing its first win.<\/p>\n
Players to Watch: Jace Carter v Sam Timmins<\/p>\n
Two of the biggest opening-round performances belong to the two most important players in this matchup.<\/p>\n
Carter exploded for 35 points and 12 rebounds in Franklin\u2019s opener and already sits tied for the league lead in scoring, while Timmins answered with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks in Southland\u2019s loss to Otago. Carter gives the Bulls a dynamic scoring forward who can hurt teams from deep and off the bounce. Timmins is the Sharks\u2019 interior anchor and their best chance to control the paint. If Carter gets loose on the perimeter, Franklin\u2019s offense could hum. If Timmins is allowed to dominate inside, Southland will like its chances of grinding out the win.<\/p>\n
Stats that Matter (League Ranking)<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\nStat
\nBulls
\nSharks
\n
\n
\n
\n
\nPoints Per Game
\n95.0 (4th)
\n68.0 (11th)
\n
\n
\nPoints Allowed Per Game
\n115.0 (11th)
\n95.0 (6th)
\n
\n
\nField Goal %
\n42% (9th)
\n42% (10th)
\n
\n
\nField Goal % Defense
\n53% (11th)
\n51% (9th)
\n
\n
\nFree Throw %
\n59% (8th)
\n47% (11th)
\n
\n
\n3-Point %
\n36% (5th)
\n17% (11th)
\n
\n
\n3-Point % Defense
\n39% (10th)
\n36% (8th)
\n
\n
\nRebounds Per Game
\n40.0 (8th)
\n42.0 (6th)
\n
\n
\nAssists Per Game
\n20.0 (6th)
\n14.0 (11th)
\n
\n
\nTurnovers Per Game
\n9.0 (1st
\n20.0 (11th)
\n
\n
\nSteals Per Game
\n6.0 (6th)
\n3.0 (11th)
\n
\n
\nBlocks Per Game
\n1.0 (11th)
\n3.0 (5th)
\n
\n
\nOffensive Rebounds Per Game
\n9.0 (7th)
\n13.0 (3rd)
\n
\n
\nDefensive Rebounds Per Game
\n27.0 (8th)
\n28.0 (7th)
\n
\n
\nOffensive Rebound %
\n21% (8th)
\n36% (2nd)
\n
\n
\nDefensive Rebound %
\n77% (7th)
\n80% (3rd)
\n
\n
\nAssist\/Turnover Ratio
\n2.22 (6th)
\n0.70 (11th)
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Individual Stats Team Leaders\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\nCategory
\nBulls
\nSharks
\n
\n
\n
\n
\nLeading scorer
\nJace Carter – 35.0
\nSam Timmins – 30.0
\n
\n
\nLeading rebounder
\nJace Carter – 12.0
\nSam Timmins – 11.0
\n
\n
\nLeading assists
\nCarter Whitt – 9.0
\nSam Timmins – 5.0
\n
\n
\nBest FG%
\nKC Nwafor – 100%
\nSam Timmins – 77%
\n
\n
\nBest 3PT%
\nJace Carter – 60%
\nRylan Jones – 33%
\n
\n
\nBlocks
\nJace Carter – 1.0
\nSam Timmins – 2.0
\n
\n
\nSteals
\nCarter Whitt – 2.0
\nSam Timmins \/ Rylan Jones \/ Jack Ramage – 1.0
\n
\n
\nMinutes
\nDerrin Boyd – 36:27
\nSam Timmins – 32:22
\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Posted on Thursday, April 16th, 2026 Game Preview: Bulls vs Sharks Game Preview: Franklin Bulls (0-1) v SBS…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":609585,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-609584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=609584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/609585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=609584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=609584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=609584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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