It's a streak which will end at some point no doubt. If it ends this season so be it, I'll still be purchasing my next years membership as soon as it's become available. Im sure a lot of people on these boards will get great pleasure if it does end this season and I'm sure the cats fans on here will cop plenty of flack but meh , a competitive league is a good league and teams battling out due the final spots till the end is only gonna do good things for the league so may the best team win.

Having said that I will point out that Perth only lost by 4 to the inform team in the comp (Sixers) and kept with Cairns for most the match so I don't think they are that off the mark . NZ this Saturday and the Syd on Sunday will give Perth a good indication where they are and if they are worthy of an off season.

The ball's well and truly in their court for this season. While games against NZ twice, Cairns and Adelaide are tough with injuries, if they're good enough they'll pinch one or two, beat the lower-ranked teams and make it.

One things for sure , if Perth do make the playoffs they will have the best preparation of any of the other teams. As Paul points out, NZ twice, Cairns and Adelaide... Just the teams you want to play leading into the finals

Gotta love all the so called "knowledgeable" ball fans out there bagging the Wildcats over their resent games/form.
The facts are the Wildcats aren't anywhere near full strength, had a big travel schedule bit also won a game in O/T.

Taipans & Breaker are the 2 best teams atm.

United & 36er's are "in-form" atm & going great guns too.

Yes injuries & travel are part of the game & you're
kidding yourself if you think any other team not mentioned here would be doing any better under their circumstances.

the wildcats have not had any flow especially offensively all season even when they had their full team. I also wonder now how much last years championship can be attributed to Bevo laying the foundations the previous years

The streak definitely appears to be in danger right now. Does anyone know what the road ahead us for the schedules of the 3 teams fighting for 2 spots?

Not sure we need ANOTHER discussion about who will make the finals.
Rather this was meant to be about the impact of that 28 season streak, good, bad, or indifferent.

Will it "Spur the Cats On"? I tend to think they have all the incentive they need, and I feel this kind of thing just adds to the pressure.
Nobody wants to be the coach that ends this streak.

I don't think the players would care too much right now about the playoff run thing, maybe at the end of the season if they choke to the point of missing it yeah, but players play, and they'd be more concerned about all the injuries. Gleeson doesn't seemed switched on enough to really care if he has a black mark by his name anyways.

Given the quality of the other top teams "imports" surely Daniels wouldn't be booking a return flight back next season and severely doubt nba is on the cards soon. Rewatched one of his college games last season against Louisville and even Dick Vitale kept bringing up how disappointing he was and how he disappeared when his team needed him. Perth has a great local content but have had Lisch and Ennis to take them over the top against other contenders. I think Daniels would have been cut long ago if it wasn't for Perth to continue tapping into Nba draftees like him and Ennis. If McRae had gone there instead I think they would be in a lot better shape.
End of the day though, they're the champs till someone knocks them off. If they finish off the season winning their remaining games and eliminating Adelaide essentially, then everyone will go back to whinging about them and all the advantages they have. Then everyone will be saying what if the sixers hadn't lost 7 in a row etc.
As for Gleeson getting the flick I think Perth is too good a franchise to remove a winning coach even if they don't get the title this year. If the players are happy and there's bums on seats why risk it.

This will be the year the playoff streak will end! They have been far from their best all year and now without any notable replacements for their injured stars i dont think they will finish with enough wins.
I have never been convinced about gleeson even after their championship. Agree with previous posts about bevos legacy. Their defensive intensity was the cornerstone of their championship which can be attributed to bevo. Throw in a great import pairing and gleeson was able to go one better.
Wasn't cal bruton, murray arnold and alan black all sacked a year after a championship? Gleeson should be added to the list. Hes been bereft of ideas and his sidekick woolpert is even more clueless.

As for Gleeson getting the flick I think Perth is too good a franchise to remove a winning coach

They removed Alan Black after the 2003 grand final, and Cal Bruton after the 1990 championship.

Cals been sacked more times than Peyton Manning and bankrupted the rest. Main reason he was let go was because he wanted to be coach, gm, ceo and mayor.
And Black was sacked after management spoke to all the players who wanted him out plus he had a big falling out with Longley.
I don't know current state of play but would think if the players support him he'll get another run for sure.

If Gleeson was coaching any other team, and they didn't make the finals, after a shocking run of injuries, they would shrug their shoulders and start planning next season.
But lets be realistic, this is The Wildcats.
If Gleeson becomes the coach who ended their reign he will come under a lot of pressure.
Cats have a history of sacking championship winning coaches.

There have never been fewer than eight teams in the NBL.

11 team league, with only 3 missing playoffs

I think if Perth miss the playoffs Gleeson gets sacked. This is a club that will call the coach before the board after an unexpected loss.

"Yah they do but I can't see it happening regardless. He's proven he can win."

Bruton, Arnold, Black, and Bevo all say Hi!

"11 team league, with only 3 missing playoffs"

Doesn't matter, the record is what it is.
And if it gets broken, it can't be fixed.

People say "it will come to an end sometime" but why?

MAYBE it will, but you do not want to be the guy holding the reins when that happens.

Well that's right, NONE of those coaches ever failed to make the finals, and has has been pointed out, all had won recent championships. There was of course plenty of scuttlebutt about each sacking, but the bottom line is that coaches are expendable, even winning ones.
Not winning the championship this year, can be explained on the basis of player performance, injuries, etc.
However, fail to make the finals, and questions will be asked about a lot of the games that should have been won regardless.
It will be extremely easy to point at certain games and say "ah, if only Gleeson had done such and such, Cats could have won."