'Get me the ball': Froling looks to outsmart United

Look out Melbourne United, Sam Froling is here to play.

The Hawks' star big man hasn't quite hit peak form during the Finals, but he's got United's Rob Loe and Marcus Lee in his sights come Saturday night's first Championship Series game.

"You look at a series like South East Melbourne, that's not my series, it’s more for our guards and that small-ball lineup," he told Hawks Media. 

"Against Melbourne, they're a good running team, but they also like to slow it down and slow teams down. I think that's more my style of game.

"We've spoken about it as a team, we've spoken about it with JT, and we know we're going to put an emphasis on getting me the ball."

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Trey Kell III and the @illawarrahawks host Chris Goulding and @MelbUnited in Game 1 of the Championship Series 🤩

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Froling ranks second in the league for points in the paint this season (12.3), combined with the Hawks leading the way in offensive rebounds, providing a daunting challenge for Melbourne's bigs. 

He's also been remarkably consistent in the teams' battles this year, with 20 points and 11 rebounds in the Round 12 clash the standout. 

Froling has averaged 16 points and 9 rebounds against Melbourne in three outings across NBL25.

"I enjoy playing a team like that that is super smart and has their system because I like to think I've got a bit of a (basketball) brain in my head," he said. 

"I know what they're doing, I know what the reads are, I like my matchup with them, and I have every year. It’s always been a team I feel I can go at and have an advantage over offensively. I think that's just what it comes down to."

You only have to look back to last year's Playoffs to show how dangerous Froling can be.

He averaged close to 23 points a game to go with 8 rebounds against the pairing of Jo Lual-Acuil Jr and Ariel Hukporti.

"We know that Sam Froling loves going against this team," Derek Rucker said on NBL Now.

"No disrespect to the Melbourne United current front-line, but if I had to have last year's front-line or this year's front-line, I'm taking last year's ... and Sam Froling did a number on them.

"There's no reason why he can't do that again.

"I think he's a little bit too crafty on his feet for Rob Loe, but Rob Loe presents a problem on the other end."

Illawarra hosts Melbourne in Game 1 of the Championship Series on Saturday night, with live coverage from 7:30pm AEDT. Tip-off is 8pm AEDT, live on ESPN.