Kings' prime Goulding stopper

Former South East Melbourne Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell has given his take on why the Sydney Kings are Melbourne United’s biggest competitor.

Mitchell believes Jaylin Galloway, the Kings' star young forward who is currently injured, has the capacity to stop United captain Chris Goulding, which is a major factor in defeating United. 

“Galloway’s developed amazingly in 12 months on the defensive end and his length and athleticism on the perimeter and ability to get through small spaces makes him the Kings’ CG43 stopper,” Mitchell said via CODE Sports.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">JAYLIN GALLOWAY WITH AUTHORITY ???<br><br>Watch live &amp; free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies, 10 Peach &amp; 10 Play <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetItReign?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetItReign</a> <a href="https://t.co/IpH2RyXO67">pic.twitter.com/IpH2RyXO67</a></p>&mdash; Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1715980266790068715?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Kings are 6-3 and second on the ladder, and face United for the first time this season next Sunday. 

Galloway was ruled out for at least three weeks in Round 4 due to a shoulder injury, so he could make a return for the Melbourne clash next week. 

United are the title favourites with an 8-2 record and Goulding has been playing his best basketball in years – he clocked 33 points two weeks ago vs Illawarra, his most since 2014.

But the Kings are lurking, aiming to claim the second three-peat in the club's history. 

“Without a doubt, the reigning champions are United’s nearest challenger,” Mitchell said.

The two will take to the court on Sunday, November 19, in Round 8 of NBL24.

The Kings play the Brisbane Bullets on Sunday at 4:00pm AEDT, live and free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies, 10 Peach and 10 Play.