North Spotlight | Stattmann stars as Cairns win big again

Featured image: Gordon Greaves / Cairns Basketball

Kody Stattmann is banging down the door for another NBL contract with a standout 33-point performance as the Cairns Marlins continued their dominant start to NBL1 North season beating South West Metro Pirates 109-69.

The Marlins opened the season last Saturday also at home at Trinity Ford Stadium beating the Townsville Heat by 32 points with Stattmann delivering 27 as he backs up the momentum from his NBL26 at the Cairns Taipans and looks to earn another contract somewhere in the league.

He starred once more on Anzac Day eve with 15 points in the first quarter and 27 in the opening half before scarcely needed after that with the Marlins cruising to the 40-point to make it two straight to open the season by a combined 72 points.

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It has been a tough start to the season for the Pirates with two losses now by a combined 70 points and again they struggled to score putting up just the 69 points on 37 per cent shooting while going 7/25 from behind the arc and having 19 turnovers.

It was a second straight dominant showing from Cairns to open the season with Kody Stattmann the star once more too with another 33 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

The NBL free agent ended up shooting 10/16 from the floor, 4/10 from behind the three-point line and 9/10 at the free-throw line while being +37 in his 27 minutes.

Luca Yates added 15 points, 13 rebounds and two assists for the Marlins, Amarco Doyle 14 points and two boards, Ky Stattmann 11 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Travis Drinnan 10 points with 6/8 foul shooting.

South West Metro are now 0-2 to start the new season with a decidedly new-look team for 2026 under the coaching of Darryl McDowell-White after the mass exodus in the off-season.

Jai Blackman-Corowa was their only player to end up reaching double-figures with 10 points to go with three rebounds and two steals.

Tyrell Mason added nine points and three rebounds, Anei Muorter eight points and three boards, Joseph Johnson eight points on 3/5 shooting, and Brandon Edwards eight points, five rebound and two steals.

Cairns opened the season with a dominant win at home as well to the Townsville Heat with Kody Stattmann unstoppable and Friday night's match up with South West Metro started off on a similar vein.

The Marlins went on an 11-0 run in the first quarter to open up a 12-pont lead, and to still be on top 29-19 by quarter-time with Stattmann already having 15 points to his name with the home team nailing 4/11 from deep to just the 0/2 from the Pirates.

It was another dominant second frame from Cairns with 25 more points to 13 with Stattmann adding another 12 to go into half-time with 27 and with the Marlins well in control leading 54-32.

Stattmann was quiet for most of the third quarter until he hit a late shot and had six more in the period with Cairns putting up 33 more as a team to just 15 from South West Metro to be well in command leading 87-47 by three quarter-time.

The lead then got out to as much as 44 in the final quarter before eventually Cairns scored the 40-point win after beating Townsville by 32 to open the season.

The Pirates remain up in Far North Queensland to take on the Townsville Heat now on Anzac Day while Cairns aren’t in action again until hosting the Sunshine Coast Phoenix on Friday night.

NBL1 NORTH 2026 SEASON | ANZAC ROUND

CAIRNS MARLINS 109 (Kody Stattmann 33, Yates 15, Doyle 14)

SOUTH WEST METRO PIRATES 69 (Blackman-Corowa 10, Mason 9, Edwards 8, Johnson 8, Muorter 8)