Mitchell out with visa issues. Can't get back from NZ.

Embarrassing visa issues for NBL clubs this season, first Sotto and now Mitchell.

Battle between two teams that both likely to struggle to get into Finals.

A full strength Bullets could of maybe produced a win but with so many missing unlikely to beat the hapless wildcats

All digits crossed for a cats win. A loss against this lineup surely leads to roster changes

Cripple fight!!!

Bookies are rarely dumb, apart from that new mob that did that dumb 100 to 1 bet special on the Melbourne cup.
Other years you'd put the house on cats winning by plenty, this year only would bet what you can afford to lose.
Cotton goes down, you'd expect the cats to probably still win, but it'd be closer than history suggests.

As all, I can't see the cats losing, even at full strength, Brisbane are woeful. Now if Sobey could actually earn some of the coin they are paying him it might be closer than expected. Hopefully the cats play some of their younger guys to see if they got potential or bench warmers. Baynes was an injury waiting to happen when Brisbane signed him. Now this comment should cover both sides, if neither are competitive blow the joint up at season end and start again, from top to bottom.

Cats by 15.

@Drexler - the new ownership need to be dragged kicking and screaming to even consider a roster change. For months last year the fans knew they needed to change and only at the very last minute did they try and change Frazier only to royally stuff that up. Fans were right, cats needed height and inside presence and that is still the case this year.

If losing every rebound count this season, breaking all sorts of loss streaks and declining fan attendence havent been a trigger I am not sure what is. The ownership are living off the Perth Wildcats legacy and not looking at the team clinically based off results and performance.

Credit to Melbourne they know they needed legit 5-man and they went and did it. Will that save their season we dont know, but at least they took action.

Cats management have the same issue but are putting their heads in the sand.

DJ Mitchell now playing.

Mitchell playing will help but cats should still get this.

Cripple fight!!!

Cripple fight - underrated comment :D (like Perthworld, I get the reference)

Travers is looking as about as useful as Blanchfield. Wtf has happened to him.

Neither and i repeat NEITHER of these teams are winning anything this season.

These 2 teams have no clue or concept of defense is.

Perth is NOTHING like those great teams that were defense first all those years.

Defence not a priority with either team, Travers got go back to square one, play D and let the offence flow. While Sobey did get fouled on the screen, it looked like he was auditioning for swan lake. For the first time ever Jacket might have a point, neither of these sides are playing finals.

Have all the buckets you want, Brissy!

Norton, wagstaff, blanchfield, Webster are all cooked . To many has been vets

Add Harry Froling to that - so over-rated.

Does Webster have the lowest bball iq in the league?

Watching the Brisbane decision making, I don't think they actually want to win. Jeez they do some stupid stuff.

Either that or they’re more self-confident than is justified by where they are on the ladder.

Regardless of who wins this game, I'm wondering how many the Breakers are going to put on Perth on Saturday, 120?

Why is corey Webster on court?

LOL, fouling Harry Froling on his poor three point attempt is peak Wildcats 2022-23.

Is froling overweight?

There's something satisfying about seeing Cotton called for a foul on a 3pt shooter.

and now a lane violation to hand Froling a fourth free throw attempt.

Feels like Sobey broke first actually...

These two franchises, in their current form, deserve to be relegated.

Ewww, five minutes of bonus putridity coming up.

Lol that put back should have gone in.

Switch Thomas for a decent rim protecting, rebounding big please.

Shame Plumlee has retired

Blanchfield, Norton, doing nothing, Webster been horrible. All three should be gone at seasons end.

Sportsbet not so dumb!

I remember when Sobey was actually good. Feels like a long time ago.

Frolings screen was legal was it??? Why is Webster still on court??

Ref can't see a player get shoved, fast break other end...

There's something satisfying about seeing Cotton called for a foul on a 3pt shooter.

Refs as per usual especially with a Mayberry game have been absolutely atrocious

What an absolute shit show from the players, refs and coaching (mainly Rillie)

One of the great franchises in Australian sport the last few decades is broken.

Phil Gould always says it takes a long long time to build a great culture and it can be torn down in 18 months.

This is what has happened to the Wildcats

Htf does Perth not only not win, but lose by double figures??

Any win is a good win for Brisbane, but I fear this victory will embolden the ownership group to leave the roster as it is.

This Cats team atm is the worst line-up for a Cats team ever. To lose to a short handed poor team like Brisbane the way we have tonight is sad.
The only players to hold any head high is Cotton and Manek.
The rest needs to seriously look at who their playing for and our history.
For Rillie to continue to start Wagstaff, Blanchfield and Norton no matter how good our bench is playing is really poor coaching. We could be playing well at end of qtrs but Rillie will continually go back to our Crud starting 5.
Thomas needs to go immediately. We need a rim protector/rebounded.

Gotta give Sammy Mac some credit, no one gave them a chance and he somehow manufactured a win against a more talented line up.

He looked composed and the team had some direction...

Who is perths GM? How can he in his right mind give blanchfield a three year deal? The signs that he was washed was was there last season. The Jack jumpers dodged a bullet by not getting Norton on a 4 year deal. Another washed player...

Danny Mills.

Well mr Danny Mills needs to be getting the canned for the team he has assembled.

Yep, Cotton unusually bad,
Perth coaches have had no idea,
Surely Zunic can give you more than Webster
Webster should retire, if not don't play him,
Blanchfield, lmao, woeful, I’m being nice,
Norton back up guard only now,
Thomas, looked ok earlier season, but now nothing
Wagstaff still ok, time to give youth ago now
Travers, nba, lol, barely nbl at present

Congratulations Brisbane
Harry did fine, he’s useful in spurts
Mitchell developing very nicely
Bach and Krebs contributing nicely at either end
Johnson better
Gak, needs some strength but shows signs

If Perth went from Alan Williams to Thomas, knowing they wanted a Manek type... sack them. Webster surely signed as a role player.... if the coach thinks 30mins of Webster is helping... ffs

Laughing at Cotton is pathetic. long established he shoots a jumper his way and it's his natural motion. May have airballed cause his minute load is stupid and he takes plenty of shots, but facts... also the irony of calling out cotton yet failing to mention Frolings ridiculous flop... that tap on the arm from cotton sent big harry to the floor... that's trying for a foul.

I see the Breakers giving Perth a 30 points beatdown in NZ the next game on Saturday

Cotton is going to break down soon with the enormous load he has to carry. Bums like Blanchfield, Norton and Webster are well past there by expiration date

"Perth:
To win - $1.55
-2.5 point start - $1.86
Win by 11+ - $3.90

Sportsbet is dumb."

Your post didn't age well. Sports is unpredictable. Always bet lightly

I'm lucky I don’t gamble, but I only would’ve lost the money that was won when NZ thumped Brisbane on Sunday :)

Rillie now seriously under the pump

This is the worst cats team ive ever seen. They continually fail to close out games when they have the chance with bone head plays down the stretch.

Surely they cant keep persisting with both Manek and Thomas one of them needs to be replaced. If only Manek wasn't a defensive liability he'd be a very good player. They need a rebounder and inside presence. They roll out the red carpet and concede too many easy layups and get smashed on the boards even without Baynes out there.

Cotton and Harris are the only players that can be proud of their performance today.

Can Rillie really be under the pump? Is the problem more so roster construction rather than coaching?

Perth fans rightfully demand playoff basketball every season, but this is a rough patch you're gonna have to accept and ride out. JR’s a smart dude, better served reevaluating him at end of his second season or perhaps through his third. If anything, questions need to be asked of Danny, he’s the dude that’s been signing these players up.

Real heat need to be on Danny Mills. Whole league has gone faster and more athletic and Cats have Blanchfield, Norton and Wagstaff with no proper #5.

Also need to ignore whatever NBA instructions are applied to Travers. If the Cavs don't like it they can take him back because he's borderline useless now.

Playing Webster and Blanchfield down the stretch isn't good coaching, as you say it’s still a bit early to judge but I’m having great doubts.

Its not too early to judge. You have a new Head Coach in New Zealand dominating. Most other teams have had 2-3 imports changed and Australians , if anything the Cat's kept too much of last years failing core which again is failing this year. So waiting for time to gel is well and truly over.

Rillie inherited a poorly constructed roster thats too old, too small and too slow. He hasnt shown to be able to rise above it and unless they somehow fill the roster with much better talent I cannot see them climbing the ladder.

Some of Rillie decisions down the stretch have been suspect in many close game, Webster in particular as well as Thomas shouldn't have been on in OT based on their performance. Also LT was fixated on his poor 3 point shooting, rather than using his natural speed and agility.

Poor coaching compounded by a poorly thought out and constructed roster.

Saturday afternoon looking like a good time to go for a bike ride, take in a movie,maybe watch some paint dry. What an abortion of a season so far

Perth are going through what NZ have been going through the past few years with the Blackwells moving on and a new group taking over the reigns all be it with home games.

Is it a coincidence that Scomo and Rillie are copping a lot of the blame? Worldwide search and Perth get 2 duds in a row?
Despite all their previous success, they haven't adapted from being at the top of the heap. They trot out Cotton, without doubt the best player in recent history, with speculation that he'll be naturalised and they can bring in another import. But instead of making moves while they were on top and had plenty of cash, they've largely stayed pat. Blanchfield may have some uses off the bench in a shooting/instant offence. They expected Travers to take a big step from potential to being a star. Imports have been largely forgettable, Law was a great signing but chemistry issues existed apparently and Mooney was a great get out of college. But c'mon man, Brady Manek???
Norton and Wagstaff should be at the end of the bench giving high 5s and playing reduced minutes. Losing Kay was huge, but why haven't they been able to recruit a marquee signing to replace him? Throw some money at players and see what sticks.
The loss of Martin, Roth and despite all the naysayers, Gleeson, has left a leadership void at the top.
Strength isn't the key to survival, the ability to adapt is. Perth has sat on their hands expecting Cotton will see them through and that any coach would continue the streak. Can only blame themselves for that. The aura of excellence has now left the building.

Which naysayers are naysaying anything on Gleeson? Obviously twits! His record peaks for itself, where he is now speaks for itself. No one could disagree he is one of the best things in the history of the cats.

Along with Goorjian Gleeson is the best coach to ever coach in the NBL. 6 titles 8 GF trips... yet the bozos voting with an axe to grind never gave him the coach of the year award

Gleeson won Coach of the Year twice.