Good preview.

Brisbane to win by 7.

With Melb losing this would be an ideal chance to open up a gap at the top of the table.
Perth should win at home hopefully Cotton pulls up OK after training injury.

Brisbane hard to beat. Huge win against Melbourne. Terricho doesn't undestand the word defence. Guards to light up without Damian Martin. Bullets by 12pts.

Perth have opened up the top tier at the Arena.
That's the difference between a Saturday Morning game, and a Friday Night game.

So much riding on Cotton.
Then we just need to see which versions of Stiendl and White turn up

"Perth games are always a defensive arm wrestle"

lol actually wildcats lead the league in scoring easily and also lead he league in fg% so try again. also lead the league in titles btw. Lemanis game plan is to hope that cotton is injured!

or arrange that he is!

Any game involving Brisbane is sure to put me to sleep. Cadee to throw a whole lot of garbage at the ring and then commentators to get hyped when one of his shots actually drops.

"Bags are permitted as long as they are no bigger than A4 size."

Plus don't forget you can bring children under three in for free - as long as they fit in the A4 bag.

Annon what a dumb thing to say.

Yeah, pretty much only two possible outcomes tonight:
"Sukkit Perf Gleeson is a Flog and your so arrogant"
OR "The Refs are so biased they gave the Wildcats more points".

Would be good if we could get that all out of the way now, so that post game we can actually discuss the game.

The Wildcats played poor team defence without Martin. The apparent dependence surprises me. Their rotations were terrible. Transision was poor. Obviously their was less pressure on the primary ball carrier as well.

The Cats' ball movement in offence seemed less organised as well. I like Norton's aggression, compared to Kenny, but his decisions can seem a bit rushed, and he forces some options at times. I still think Cotton is not really a point.

Brisbane have great potential to shoot the lights out, but their guards at least, have been really inconsistent over the years. I think it should be a good opportunity for them. Also, if the Cat's defensive rotation doesn't improve, Holt may be able to play to his strengths with dribble penetration.

Hope it's a good game.

If Martin and Cotton both out - then Brisbane by 5.

White out, Bullets by plenty

Brisbane would have to favourites tonight...Cotton not 100% put ur money down :)

White out? Any certainty or clear info on that?

Hamstring,unknown how long? Every team goes through this and that's why ever team should be prepared.

Got 11 players and they can play that's why they are on the roster.

No White, No Martin and Cotton not 100%, swings in Brisbane's favour.

FMD
Hope they have somebody on speed dial.

Lack of bench depth in the backcourt is going to bite us in the arse.

And it comes down to the problem with Martin.
Shit happens, and there will always be random injuries throughout the year. If White is out for a while, we get another import. It's not great, but it happens.
But Martin has been a 50|50 proposition for a while. So yes, bringing in Norton was a great move. Everyone knew he would be starting a lot of games. But that's only half the plan, where is the rest? Needed somebody else on the bench besides Stiendl, and somebody better than Cummings.
If Dech was the plan, he should have been in the team getting minutes.

It's all gonna come down to the bench. We need another blinder from Stiendl, good games from Vague and Dech, and Wagstaff needs to be accurate.
If Hire goes MIA again, I'm gonna follow him to the shops...

what y'all guys think?

what has more value , an over 173 pts or brisbane +5 ?

i can see this going to a high scoring affair

Time for Hire to step up and show that he is worth a roster spot.

Game hasn't even started and I'm already angry at some of the ref calls I know I’m about to witness.

Got me on this one lmfao

By how much would the Wildcats need to be behind before the Wildcats cheer leaders, sorry i mean referees start to panic and crush the bullets?

Obvious foul on gliddon not called. Shocking.

Rabbit82, that one actually wasn't a foul but how about when Bairstow got hacked under the rim just then

And it begins...

The whistle game has begun, they have not waited perth to be led.
great start by the refs.

the refs should just take the ball and put in the nets for the cats.

Referees not taking any chances tonight...

They cannot risk the Bullets getting an early lead in this against an undermanned Wildcats team.

If it requires the Wildcats to take 50 Free throws against 5, then so be it.

Refs not risking it tonight

This game is alllll refs. Disgusting

Vukona thug

Bullets play horrible and its all refs. This is beyond a joke. One eye

Maybe bullets should bring in an import that can change direction. But i guess that was a block...

Huuuuuge foul by steindl, must be the homecooking

Cadee's mutton chops look delicious

Hodgson and Gibson got Brisbane back in the game

Refs will be panicking.

There yeam is only up by 4 at the quarter time break even though the Woldcats took 9 FTs

Mmm Cadee's baby lambs

Thoughts on Cotton?

Refreshing watching a Perth game without Homocide, this other Garleep is actually pretty good on the mic.

I meant in terms of him apparently not being 100%.

"Cadee's mutton chops look delicious"

Why does he persist with it? Looks disgusting.

Cotton? I like how it breathes

Why does he persist with it? Looks disgusting.

Teen-like scrappy facial hair in a long strip huh. Creepy fetish.

Ok well Cotton looks fine going off of that play. Nice.

Brisbane are playing great Wildcats basketball

13,132 attendance.

referees securing that bag

referres breathing through their whistele for the cats

disgusting .these guys are dictating the game. no chance for the bullets playing against a full referee team.

Because body contact with the shooter in the air isnta foul?

i'm not even watching the game lol

Clearly.

Wildcats being given every opportunity to win this game, yet somehow Brisbane tie it up. I'm guessing Cotton FTs to ice it.

Cotton with the (almost) buzzer beater! It's over.

well i actually watched that 3 by cotton

M.V.P.

Bullets are clearly going to get the wooden spoon and then fold.

Am I doing it right?

DO YOU LIKE APPLES, PERTH HATERZ? WELL, HOW DO YOU LIKE THOSE APPLES??

25 free throws awarded to 8.

Wildcats at home in the last 2 games have won the Free Throw count

47-11?

LOL

I think cotton could be a solid nba starter.

Excellent game to watch on a Friday night as a neutral, Brisbane just had no answer for Cotton

Lachy Reid said so on the TV commentary. No biggie, everyone who was following hoops.com.au during the off season already knew this.

Great game . Overtime would have been better . Cotton tooo good.

How many more games does Andre persist with Cadee through the last quarter, whilst Gibson sits on the bench? Lots of layups past Cadee- no defensive stance.

Cats showed heaps of character to grind out a win without three of their starters. Brisbane are looking impressive and Hodgeson a huge improver from last season

I actually think that Cotton was fouled during his buzzer three

Perth grinding out a huge win. Must say lost a bit of respect for vukona tonight, appeared intent on playing the man more so then the ball.

Bryce Cotton ... hot damn … he's like the Sami Whitcomb of the MNBL

Just goes to show, for all those who clearly don't even watch the game, and/or don't understand the rules, and/or are blind,
the foul count is meaningless.

Perth got absolutely mugged on some bad calls tonight. It happens. Calls go both ways.
How do you Tech Norton for bouncing the ball in anger, then don't Tech Te Rangi for deliberately disobeying a ref and refusing to leave the court?

Te Rangi had no obligation to leave the court.

NBL Website shows the result as 91 to 87. WTF did I miss?

Perth have to be title favorites right now. They even have an extra import up their sleeve. It's just scary. I think we're looking at a Melbourne and Perth finals series.

"Just goes to show, for all those who clearly don't even watch the game, and/or don't understand the rules, and/or are blind, the foul count is meaningless."

Perth were all over the Bullets from tip-off, they did the well-proven technique of initiating contact early and often so it seems like the norm to the refs. The way they defended they should have been closer to 28 fouls than 14, but their intensity and discipline to the plan was excellent.

It was a smart strategic move from the Wildcats knowing they would probably struggle if it was a cleanly reffed game given how well Brisbane pass the ball. And once you get into a shot for shot slog, if you have Bryce Cotton on your side fair chance you will come out on top.

While Brisbane blew a golden chance last night, one thing I did like was the way they didn't get on the refs. They took 41 shots in the paint and only got 8 FTs, but particularly early in the game when a lot of calls were being missed on their drives they didn't fall into the trap a lot of teams do in Perth of bitching to refs and losing focus.

They stuck at their plan of trying to go inside first, played through lots of contact and almost got the win. It suggests they are developing into a pretty disciplined team.

Wow, Perth better be thanking their lucky stars for whoever was the mastermind to bring Cotton in, as he's earned his money 10x over! At least it wasn't just him this time, Mitch really was key there in the stretch that they came back...

Speaking of calling things consistently... How does Mitch get a tech for what he did, but Wagstaff can grab a ref and scream in his face near the end of the game and nothing?

Well done to both teams for a pretty enjoyable game as a fan of neither team last night... Up and down and a great thriller ending...

I'm guessing plenty over east tuned out of that one because it was pretty scrappy early, but it came good in the 4th. I continue to be impressed with Brisbane. Te Rangi has stepped up with the extra opportunities, and Hodgson looks a different player to last season. Plenty to like with Patterson still settling in. Not in shape but he can clearly play. They had so many chances to say die own the stretch but kept executing under pressure and could easily have won that one.
Cotton though, I thought that game was every bit as impressive as his 45 considering the circumstances. Such a great finisher around the rim in addition to his pull-up game.

I thought it was a great game.
Brisbane have certainly improved, and you consider they are still bedding down their imports, and have a slot up their sleeve, they could really give things a shake this season. Great for the league, and for for thir potential sale.

Was great to have a Friday night game, and the Arena was packed. In this instance the official numbers would be realistic, as there were not many empty seats.

Cotton, what can I say. Not sure if it was shown on the telecast, but he received a sustained MVP chant. If you take those words literally, it's well deserved, he is carrying the team, and steps up when the game is on the line.

Overall a gutsy win by Perth, to grind it out with only two of their starters.
With so many injuries, my concerns are another poor showing by Jervis and Wagstaff.

I thought Jervis started the season well, but he gets into foul trouble so easily and gets benched. Now he just seems to have lost all confidence, he's no crashing the boards, but still commits cheap fouls on D. Gleeson needs to figure out a way to play him back into form.

Wagstaff is still great value off the bench, but he's already looking tired and shooting poorly.

I switched of at quarter time when it looked like Perth were cruising to a 30 point win. Good on the Bullets for showing some spine for a change they do seem to be mentally and physically tougher now and should be a chance to make the playoffs.

Agree re Hodgson, Luuuc, really starting to find his feet in the league, probably better suited to Brisbane's style than Adelaide's.

Paul, open your eyes, that was most definitley not a game you could say perth was getting all the calls, in fact they were on the wrong end of some howlers. When cadee and te rangi are responsible for 9 fouls, chances are they were there, neither is a plus defender, and both were regularly oit of position.

"Two of their players are bad defenders" is not an argument. Paul laid out his case.

Getting sick of people (who either didn't watch the game or are simply bullshitting to impress others who didn't) trotting out meaningless stats to reinforce their great Refs Conspiracy theory.
Brissy got a lot of uncontested buckets in the paint. Annoyed me watching our defence completely breakdown as I am a fan of strong D, but it happened.

If you want to go through and present a list of every single call & no-call for both teams then go for it.

As I said Perth were on the receiving end of a lot of bad calls. Whether they got any more or less than Brissy I couldn't say. Refs make mistakes, it happens. Sometimes those mistakes will favour one team. What's the alternative, you ask the refs to even out their mistakes?

It's not exactly news that Perth get the rub of the green in Perth. It happens elsewhere with home court but Perth (and previously NZ when they were a power) were the standouts because they knew how to play to capitalise on it, as Goorjian coached teams did.

This year Perth have shot 5 less FTs than their opponents in away games but 65 more in home games. That fits with the simple eye test when watching games from over there.

The refs can subconsciously favour the home team without it being an intentional conspiracy.

"The refs can subconsciously favour the home team without it being an intentional conspiracy."

This. Players often play better at home or worse away. The environment affects people, including refs. In Perth you have an intimidating atmosphere and a very disciplined team, and that combination allows them to get away with a level of physicality they generally can't in other gyms.

"Maybe Perth plays more aggressively at home. And being aggressive gets rewarded with some free throws."

In Wildcats away games the average FT count is 25-27, in home games it is 24-11. So Perth get pretty much the same amount, but opposition teams have their numbers fall off a cliff.

"The refs can subconsciously favour the home team without it being an intentional conspiracy."

Oh FMD, it never ends. Now the Grand Conspiracy theory has been debunked, it must be a "Psychological" problem.
So what, all the refs are mentally unstable, and incapable of calling what they see?

That's nice and convenient isn't it. How can anyone argue with your stupid theories, because the refs are doing it "subconsciously".

Ok, so this "subconcious" bias perfectly explains all the calls they got wrong in favour of the Cats, but what explains all the ones they got wrong in favour of Brisbane?
Does the "subconscious" bias come and go, and then reverse itself?

And the utter lunacy of your theory is this:
There were some dreadful wrong calls against the Cats and blatant non-calls against the Bullets, to which the crowd understandably went apeshit. Yet this apparently had no effect on the refs' "subconscious" whatsoever. Surely if they they were somehow scared or intimidated by the crowd, even "subconsciously," it would effect those extreme calls more?
Why pay the soft blocking and reaching fouls, that the crowd basically ignores anyway?
Or are you saying it effects their "subconscious" in reverse? So if we were really quiet we'd get more calls?

Oh FMD, it never ends. Now the Grand Conspiracy theory has been debunked, it must be a "Psychological" problem.
So what, all the refs are mentally unstable, and incapable of calling what they see?

Pretty valid criticism.