Does anyone feel like Adelaide always get burnt from deep either through poor D or abnormally good shooting? Or it just a confirmation bias? Anyway, I think this will happen tonight and Adelaide will be overwhelmed in key moments.

I thought the 36s looked a different team last week against Melb and only going down to a pretty flying NZ outfit.
I think they'll only improve without the Randall distraction and this will be pretty close one.

Looking forward to more Manek hair-trigger sniper action. Carn cats

Should be close. The only thing we really know for sure is that the 36ers win one, lose one, this season.

"Does anyone feel like Adelaide always get burnt from deep either through poor D or abnormally good shooting? Or it just a confirmation bias?"

It's real. They give up the most threes at the second highest %.

It feels like it has been happening forever though so I wasn't sure if it was just bias and hyper focus haha.

The reason is a mix of poor defence, and good shooting rims at home id say.

Other teams are better at shutting Adelaide down from outside the perimeter.

When you're average, luck goes against you. When you’re good, you make your own luck - that’s why it feels a mix of poor D and lack of luck for 36ers being an average side over the last few years.

Should be a good game, cats at home should win this, sixer won't shy away though.

Cats by one.

Perth by 4

The last game against Perth is when everything blew up with Randall earlier that day. DJ seems to have big games back home in WA and with the Sixers showing more ticker since the Randall axing I think we should get this one.

We played Manek into form last time though as we so often do with opposition bigs so even though the Wildcats aren't what they once were at home it should still be a close one.

Wildcats easy

Lots empty seats.

Wildcats looking sloppy and lazy on defense again

Yes cats looking average, Soto a nice few minutes, commentary is horrible.

Lots empty seats.

Thursday is a bit of a ball ache for me

Todd Blanchfield is absolutely terrible on both ends

Adelaide ain't committing any little hands fouls on the ball carrier?? Okay sure.

If Rillie had any balls Blanchfield should not see another second on the floor

Whoever signed Blanchfield for 3 yrs and whoever hired that person should be thrown out of WA immediately.

Thomas hacked, no call cotton grabbed no call... like I guess it's not hard when there us two sets of rules... esp when the hoke team is playing like shit too.

Makes a big difference when the ball is passed around quickly. Opens the court up for the big guys close to the basket. Dech dribbled the ball too much towards the end of the second quarter and the offce stagnated. Some good drives and dishes by Drmic as well as a few from the three.

Cats played so bad and yet only trail by 13.
Adelaide get a true point guard and they will be up there.
Sotto is doing well as back up 5, probably needs more minutes.
Yes Blanchfield is terrible, nothing new there.
And again, horrible commentary.

At what point is not calling a foul
on Adelaide beyond a joke?? Like it's so one way. This league will die if ref's don't improve, across all games it's a disgrace.

Weird challenge up 16 at the start of the 3rd

Like that 3 point free throw

Real sad that Travers has arguably regressed from last season.

Beyond a disgrace.

Travers surely just got decked? As a player how are you meant to play when your getting fouls called on you on d for not even touching the guy, then get shirt fronted all good...

If only the Cats played basketball as consistently as Anon sooks about refs

Yes Travers has gone backwards, hard to understand why.

Hooley saying stats have cats in the game, idiot, obviously he doesn't realise that defence wins games.

Those days of the Wildcats being a defense 1st team are GONE.

That culture is gone.

Its all about stat padding for this team now.

Why does Rillie not put the bench on when their 20 points down ? Give it up already.

I reckon the Sixers are coming into form... Completely pantsed the cats tonight.

Record win for Adelaide in Perth. Perth keeps breaking those negative records.

Ballman - he is driving his starting players to the ground, especially Cotton.

He has no clue and concept of what defense is.

Getting rid Randal has turned Sixers around.
CJ starting to show he's going to be a fine coach.
Cats just aren’t what we have known for seasons.
Thomas is ok, certainly not great. No where near John Mooney.
Cats just got keep competing, play some young guys and start looking for imports and locals for next season.
Will cats fans now desert the team.

Does anyone else think the master plan of CJ is to play a kind of Lemanis type of offensive style?

Very lacklustre display from the Wildcats however that wasn't the biggest disappointment of the night...the regular court announcer was back strutting around.

Was he ever gone?

Listening to Rillie's press conference we sound like a low performing regional club. "Hopefully this will be only 1 bad game" and not 5 straight again. Doesn't seem to have a clue and keeps dodging questions on the roster which anyone with a basketball brain can see needs to be changed.

Has the club not learnt from last season you need to make changes like Melbourne , Illawarra has. We need height / athleticism / energy and rebounds. Pardon V2 would be perfect.

Coach needs to become a coach and not a mentor. I remember Gleeson pulling off the whole starting 5 for the bench after an insipid performance - todays was even worse and he played the same poor performers the whole match. Give the youth some chance to show passion and energy.

Will cats fans now desert the team.

Bendigo were hit pretty hard by the pandemic from the sounds of it but have bounced back really well this year.

Perth were due for a slump. Lost a huge part of their core, lost Gleeson, I'm not sure how much better things would be right now if Bendat were still around.

The Bendat regime wouldn't have appointed Danny Mills as GM, nor any other NBL club for that matter.

"SEG are totally screwed once the casuals lose interest and don't renew."

Given how hard it was for the Bendats to find a new owner, it might be the Wildcats who are screwed if people dessert the club in tough times.

It's been touched on by the commentary team a few times throughout the season re: Travers and last night really drove it home with me - clearly he's been tasked with upping his perimeter game to increase his NBA chances, however for Perth he's much better suited close to the basket playing an undersized 4 type of role with his skillset. He can make the three, but so can just about every other Wildcat at an equal or better rate. Offensively he needs to be more aggressive and put heat on the rim. Defensively he's not had the same impact as last season, but that's a team defensive issue more than anything else I feel.

The sad thing is SEG are better than the charity that put in a bid and thought they could run a basketball club.

Sixers with Randall 2-4

Sixers without Randall 3-1

Everyone back to their consistently inconcistent best at the cats bar Cotton. It hurts to watch

And the one loss was closeish too

Zodiac, we had a bit of back and forth about Randall and his issues/negative side. I admitted I was wrong about that in a previous post so credit to you for picking up on things I was not seeing. You definitely were on to that very early on so always happy to admit when I get it wrong. Adelaide do look much better.

With the bullets not accepting a losing record from their coach, Maybe a warning shot for Rillie who frankly needs a bit more urgency to chop and change things to get this club back to sustained success.

Blanchfield needs to be benched. He is getting away with underachieving. No accountability whatsoever

Zodiac, we had a bit of back and forth about Randall and his issues/negative side. I admitted I was wrong about that in a previous post so credit to you for picking up on things I was not seeing. You definitely were on to that very early on so always happy to admit when I get it wrong. Adelaide do look much better.

Zodiac, when I said back and forth, I didn't mean it was ever personal or anything like that.

Just wanted to give you credit for predicting this so early and acknowledge you were spot on the whole time.

"Was he ever gone?"

Yeah he wasnt at the previous home game Kobe, was seen sitting in the stands watching instead.

To be honest - Wildcats home games are pretty painful to attend even when winning, of course winning eases the pain but the sheer volume of the music, the screaming of the courtside announcer telling the fans when and what to cheer, its exhausting. The crowd doesnt get the chance to build its own energy and cheer for the team, everything is forced by a guy screaming into a mic trying to steal the spotlight from the game itself.

I stopped being a member for a lot of these reasons, its easier to watch it at home where you dont have the game drowned out by loud music and a shouting MC.

Wildcats need to simply play the tunes to a defence chant and people will know what to do, they dont need someone to tell them to say it. You have a courtside MC to provide light commentary for the game (not play by play of course). The Wildcats have gotten this very wrong.

As for the game itself, zero energy, terrible defence especially interior D, and too many passengers on the offensive end means Perth will yet again be watching the finals from home, thankfully for them a top 6 playoff bracket means they will sneak in for round 1.

Both Manek and Thomas are nice pieces....but neither are good rebounders at NBL level.

It seems quite clear Perth's issue is they don't rebound well.....last in the league I believe.

So what they need is good rebounder and the only way they realistically get one is in an import spot.

So that means either one of Thomas, Manek goes or Perth continue to cross fingers and wait out the Cotton citizenship debacle....which is a dangerous strategy.

Which ever way you cut it though, the truth is they are not making a GF with this current squad.

MD, I agree that we do need a better rebounder, and so if you need to move one of the imports you go with the one who gives you less scoring which is Thomas... I do like his passing abilities though, he creates for others quite well.

To be honest, yeah Manek had a couple of good shooting games, but I see the talent level of both Perths imports (outside of Cotton) to be third import talent wise. Compare them to guys like Mooney, Law and its clear to see they aren't that level.

Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Illawarra have all made some sort of change to try and turn their season around. The only team in the same performance zone that has not is Perth.

Speaks volumes of the new ownership. I think both Manek and Thomas on a plane is needed to get this season on track (replace 1 legit rebound / blocking centre and a cleveland style wing with speed and athleticism)

"Was he ever gone?"

Yeah he wasnt at the previous home game Kobe, was seen sitting in the stands watching instead.

Unsure who he was Kobe, he got mixed reviews. I was at the game and felt he needed to tone it down a bit with how loud he was screaming "Defence" literally every defensive possession of the game. But at the same time he didnt go over the top with the "Lets go Wildcats lets go"... so it was hit and miss.

Like I said in an above post, the music itself is an indicator of what to chant/cheer, dont really need someone screaming at the crowd taking away from the game itself.

You are right though, strange that he didn't do the MC job but was seen at the game..

Thomas and Manek together = poor fit.

Cut Thomas for a big centre that rebounds

I agree with Ballman

Replace both Thomas and Manek for the closest you can find to Cleveland and Kay,

Start Travers at PF

Or 2 big imports a Kay type and a Plumlee type and start Travers at SF

If Cotton Naturalises get a import PG, even a cheap Deshon Taylor type to support Norton

Thomas is probably the worst import in the league at the moment.

Followed closely by Manek.

Thomas is not a defensive specialist at all, Manek's value drops off a cliff when his shots are not falling which is about 75% of the time.

Jonno if you get 2 big imports and put Travers at the 3 spot the Cats will have severe spacing issues. Id take Vic Law any day of the week, never understood the hate towards him.

Yea good point

Yea Law was good, if he didnt get injured Perth make playoffs imo.

On form of this season, Norton, Travers have been average, Blanchfield has been missing in action, Thomas ok but underwhelming, Manek again ok but underwhelming, so five of your main players are not performing as required, not going to win many games like that.

Wildcats Recruiting has not been thought out. Lets look at problems from last season:
- poor defensively
- no rim protection
- trailed in rebounds most games
- Sorely undersized against most lineups
- questions on Norton as a starting point guard, diminished results
- questions on Blanchfield who disappeared in the home loss streak that cost them the finals
- Ageing roster ripe for a rebuild, ensure future success
- Had a first time coach with no NBL experience

Actual recruitment
- Awarded Blanchfield a massive contract extension despite poor performance
- Added no new Aussie Big's to help with interior issues
- Retained all of their 30+ players with no view to future proofing the club in future seasons
- Added another 34 year old with Webster who realistically did not solve height, athleticism, point guard or future proofing needs of the club
- Both US imports are a poor fit. Manek more suited to slower pace leagues with good spacing. Cant defend quicker and more agile NBL players. When he is not hitting his shots he doesn't deliver defence, blocks or rebounds which all needed to be solved from last season
- Added Thomas who on paper was an elite athletic defender. Has shown glimpses of talent but clearly adds no interior rim protection, has not locked down anyone as a "Defensive" specialist. On paper it looked like a good move but hasn't worked out.
- Added coach with only college experience who should not have been awarded a head coach role but only an assistant.

So the report card from their recruiting:
- still woefully undersized
- lack defensive specialists/high energy guys etc
- Two imports towards the worse ranking in the NBL , clearly not suited to either Rillies coaching style and/or the league
- Kept all their old players and no mid 20s players which the club needs
- Hired another Rookie Coach after missing finals after 35 years and not added any depth of experience to the assistant coaches

When looked at clearly against the checklist from last year the Wildcats recruitment team have pretty much failed in addressing most of the their issues from the previous years disastrous season.

No coincidence the best teams have younger rosters, taller rosters , more athletic rosters

Big Fudge....your post on the game day experience is spot on. Add to that all the Thursday night games this season and it's no surprise numbers are down regardless of team performance. We always laugh as we leave the stadium at the end of the game because old mate MC is still yelling at the crowd about something. Last night it was something about giving ourselves a huge cheer for being such a good crowd. His strutting up and down the sideline as if it is somewhat intimidating to the opposition is laughable.

So the report card from their recruiting

Ballman spot on. Redemption for Scomo too I feel as not only have the exact same issues continued for the cats this season but they appear to be way worse and he is long gone.

Cats fans, your team was set up for a long reign of success by bevo when he brought over those all young razor back guys, Knight, Martin plus. Quality young Australian core that were not expensive to bring over, they met local ladies and stayed, obviously getting pay rises but Perth always had money. Gleeson took over from bevo, picked the imports to suit his team and the rest they say is history.
Geelong cats last 15 season was very similar, all these father sons for at time late draft picks, get the core build around it.
Getting quality Australian players now is a lot harder, you got scout them young and then every other club wants them.
Cats being strong is great for the competition, it's a very tough field now though as most sides have deeper pockets.

When you have young bigs on the roster they always seem the last to get given a go to prove themselves. We have no physical strength on the inside so why not give Ollie a go Got nothing to lose at this stage, plus , might find something worth persevering with. Otherwise what's the point of having someone on the roster for almost 2 years. Also Shervil used to be a reasonable rebounder. Throw him in for a short while to see what he can give. Both Manek and Thomas are playing out of position. I’d like to see Thomas at the 4 , Manek at 3 and a rebounding Centre recruited when Cotton becomes an Australian. Who knows how long that will be .

"I agree with Ballman
Replace both Thomas and Manek for the closest you can find to Cleveland and Kay,
Start Travers at PF
Or 2 big imports a Kay type and a Plumlee type and start Travers at SF
If Cotton Naturalises get a import PG, even a cheap Deshon Taylor type to support Norton"



Taylor was in talks with multiple teams this summer but nothing fell through. Right now he's in the same league Jamar Wilson & Kyle Fogg played in & had breakout seasons to lift them to higher Europe & even Jamar before coming to NBL

His averages rn(8 games) including 47 & 38 point games
25.9 pts
4.6 asts
3.8 rebs
2.1 stls

44% FG
37% 3FG
83% FT

He will not be cheap for long

Yes Blocker. Anyone remember Ollie hitting 2 or 3 from deep and 10 odd boards against Adelaide on the preseason? Coaches clearly forgot. Might have been last year but either way bench Majok and give the dude a go ffs

Sixers were so confident in the fourth they said hey Marshall, can you do the defensive job on Cotton now.