Falcons big-man Myles Cherry remains a touch-and-go proposition for Newcastle's back-to-back games in round two of the men's NBL 1 East competition this weekend.
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"He's fifty-fifty," Falcons coach Josh Morgan said on Friday of Myles, who is battling shin splints. "He didn't play last week.
"He's got some physio this afternoon and tomorrow trying to speed things up.
"It will be a challenge again if he's not available, but we'll cross that bridge tomorrow.
"There's a chance he plays a bit of both [games], but either way that would have to be managed a little bit.
"There's a chance he may not play, if it means recovery and removing that longevity of the injury.
"We'll plan for the worst, and hope for the best."
The Falcons were belted 109-72 by Maitland in their season opener, and face tough challenges against Inner West Bulls in Sydney on Saturday before their first home game of 2024 on Sunday against Canberra.
Inner West beat Hills Hornets 105-94 at home in round one, while Canberra also enjoyed a home victory, 101-69 over Illawarra.
Morgan was more concerned about his side, calling for improvement across the board.
"They scored 109 points, if you want to be a good defensive team, you probably talking 70 to 80," he said of the loss to Maitland.
"The lack of one-on-one resistance and cohesiveness with our team defence, that's just one of a long list of things.
"We allowed them to dictate pretty much the whole game, minus a few couple-of-minute stints where we look all right."
The women's side will be out to build on a 76-63 win over Maitland against Inner West, who were thrashed 90-45 last week, before meeting Canberra who beat Illawara 64-54.
"We allowed them to dictate pretty much the whole game, minus a few couple-of-minute stints where we look all right."