Hunter's reputation as NBL road kill grew again on Thursday night, with the Mark Bradtke-inspired Melbourne Tigers running a steamroller over the Pirates.

The Tigers flogged the Pirates 102-83 at the State Netball Centre in Melbourne, with Bradtke just unstoppable.

The NBL's premier big man showed exactly why he's the league's leading centre top-scoring with 23 points and pulling down 19 rebounds in an awesome display.

Hunter has now lost nine of its 10 games on the road this season and never really looked like arresting that shameful statistic.

The Tigers overcame a sluggish start to take the lead midway through the second quarter and never surrendered it.

The pivotal term was the second with the Tigers holding the Pirates to just 15 points as Bradtke ran amok at both ends.

The Tigers now have a 10-10 win-loss record while Hunter slumps to 8-12.

Both teams back up again on Saturday with Hunter hosting Adelaide and the Tigers trekking west to play Perth.

Pirates coach Adrian Hurley expressed his ire at the referees several times during the game over what he and the team believed was inconsistent officiating.

But Hurley admitted his side was badly beaten and reserved special praise for Bradtke's performance.

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