How to watch & talking points: Melbourne v SE Melbourne

19 Feb 2026

melbourne united

south east melbourne

Throwdown 32 is here and Melbourne United hosts South East Melbourne in a crucial Round 22 fixture for both sides.

Melbourne United (5th) v South East Melbourne Phoenix (3rd)
Thursday, February 19, 7.30pm AEDT
John Cain Arena

How to watch‍

‍Watch every game live on ESPN.

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Tickets

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Talking points

Plenty to play for
The Throwdown always delivers between two teams who don't like each other, but it means even more on Thursday night with the Finals around the corner.

Not only do both teams want to go into the break with momentum, but the Phoenix want to get the win to jump into the top two, whereas United want to try and do all they can to get into the top four.

Dean Vickerman's team has struggled in the last two months to find the form they had at the beginning of the season, but perhaps a big matchup against the Phoenix is exactly what the doctor ordered..

Pick your poison
What makes the Phoenix so hard to beat is that they run incredibly deep with talent and Josh King knows he can trust everyone on the bench to step up when called upon.

Whether that is Ian Clark, Angus Glover or even Malique Lewis, the Phoenix have shown that they have weapons everywhere and can continue to put pressure on the opposition and not let up.

It's one part of their play style that is more unique than any other team and it will be a major reason for their success if they are to have a deep championship push

What they're saying

United forward Kyle Bowen on playing in a Finals-like atmosphere
"It’s almost like playoff basketball is here already.

“There’s a lot of focus on us, we’ve talked a lot about our confidence and our discipline within our walls, the boys just want to go out there and compete.

“Momentum plays such a big part in playoff runs, so getting a great performance for four quarters in the South East game is going to be really important for us looking forward.”

Phoenix coach Josh King on playing with energy:
“We need to play good basketball going into the Finals.

“Our energy and effort level was good (in the win over Tasmania) … but we've got to be quicker to understand when someone’s got it going or what we need to do to be better on defence.

“I’m never going to be satisfied with my guys on that side of the floor. That's my job.”