Crocs pair to tear up the court 

Townsville import duo Corey "Homicide" Williams and Rosell Ellis are preparing to tear teams apart when the NBL season tips off this weekend.

A torn pectoral tendon cruelled Ellis' season before it got off the ground last year.

But he is set to re-ignite his impressive NBL career feeding off Williams, who stunned the NBL when he came to the Crocs as an injury replacement last season.

Townsville kept close tabs on Ellis' injury and swooped to re-sign him once he was fully recovered.

Together they'll give the Crocs a different look, quicker, more offensive and versatile.

Last year they had seven-footer Ben Pepper and American import Galen Young, who lacked pace up the floor.

Pepper has since parted company with the Crocs and has been replaced by athletic Boomer Russell Hinder.

"We were a bit slower and little more physical with those guys last season," said coach Trevor Gleeson.

"Russell gives us a bit more shooting from the perimeter and he's a bit quicker up and down the court with works in nicely with Corey and Rosell.

"Corey and Rosell will give us a pretty potent combination in the open court.

"They're both quick up and down the court and they're pretty hard to get in front of."

Townsville, who won the Queensland Cup in pre-season and are 5-3 in warm-up games, open their NBL quest against Adelaide, something of an unknown quantity with a new coach and playing roster.

They play the powerful South Dragons second up, a team Gleeson rates in his top four sides.

"The two biggest off-season recruiters were the Tigers, who picked up Sam Mackinnon and Ebi (Ere), and the Dragons.

"The Dragons opened the purse strings and got some big-name players and Cairns have got one of the most talented rosters in the NBL and Perth.

"They're the teams who've got bigger and stronger."

Townsville opened last season 3-7 in their first 10 games after experiencing a run of injuries but they finished the season very strongly once Williams started terrorising teams.

Ellis, 33, comes back to the NBL with a career average of 18.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.

Cairns tip-off the new season against the Dragons at home on Saturday night.