Tend to agree

Has he lost the locker room? Just from observing him on the sideline yesterday he seems to interact pretty well with the players. The biggest issue for Perth I see is team construction, followed by rotations. Too many similar guys, and guys like Hyrum Harris and Sarr for stretches don't seem to get as many minutes as warranted, especially playing around all the guys who like to get up shots from the perimeter.

He doesn't have the mojo that is required to instil a wildcats game.

Clearly, I can’t see any depths in offence, always losing the ball when they go to the hoop. Sydney showed us how it was done and Hunter was jus awesome.

Defensively we don’t rebound!!

Unfortunately his offensive sets are downright horrible. With Trevor living in Perth and potentially sitting on the cats doorstep it's negligent for the cats not to get him at seasons end.

Not even mentioned the horrible defence under JR

To rebound properly you need team players, box out your man, to many cats players think about the next play and are headed back up court cherry picking. Usher a good defender, in what league. Cotton is a super star, should be used like one, not enough hard workers at cats. Play H Harris more, probably start, find a real 3 and D guy. Move Cotton to the point, at least he's clever, to many players think they are great but only like the soft stuff. Start Sarr at the five. Poor list management, if that’s on Rilie, well the headline could be right.

You cannot even blame list management - Cairns with a team of mostly youngsters are playing better. Its coaching as the #1 consistent poor performance factor.

I don't rate Rillie at all but I think whoever constructed Perth's roster needs to go - if it was indeed Rillie then yes he needs to go.

The Webster brothers don't pay winning basketball, its that simple. Why did they re-sign them?

Getting Keanu never made sense to me. He's low IQ and high turnover. He's more concerned about getting his own points rather than setting proper screens for Bryce, rebounding, defense etc.

Then you add Usher to the above mix and yep you get another chucker, low IQ player who supposedly came in with defensive acumen but hasn't shown that at all.

To be honest the only positive signing they've seem to done is Alex Sarr..

We won titles with low-IQ players like Jervis. Majok Majok in the squad. Coached properly these guys could perform a lot better. Even Blanchfield played career best under Gleeson.

JJ's they pick up often fringe Aussies and turn them into stars. (Majok Deng, Drmic ) They look like top 3 team. Its coaching the main factor.

Deng played his best ball at Cairns and Drmic played his best at Adelaide.

Screeningnick the problems you've highlighted there with selfishness low IQ, turnovers are actually coaching problems. Good coaches eliminate those problems.

Look at Pinder last season under Forde compared to this season.

You can see flashes of his talent but then for 2 quarters he won't touch the ball.

Same with Usher. You don't score 35 on debut by accident. People criticise his shot selection, but with the right coaching and a team defence behind him, to me he could be a gun two-way player.

I haven't seen Cotton this frustrated with teammates, not getting the ball etc, since he arrived in Australia.

Then you add in young guys like Henshall, Okwera, H. Harris, who all deserve to get court time yet get stuck behind guys who consistently DON'T perform like Wagstaff and T. Webster.


This team ON PAPER is absolutely talented enough. The issue is coaching, coaching, coaching. Also keep in mind last season John Rillie had Mike Kelly as Associate Head Coach to help him out - this season they don't have an AHC, and instead have just replaced kelly with Aaron Young who has 0 NBL coaching experience.

I genuinely can't believe that Rillie had his contract extended by a year in the off season. At least bring in someone like Gleeson as a consultant, or Associate Head Coach to HELP RILLIE.

I don't think its as much as list management from Mills as i believe Rillie had more input in the type of players he wanted this season. There is more than enough talent there as we've seen individual brilliance at times from the players but as previously said there are too many of the same type of players. I said it at the time but getting rid of Norton for T Web was a mistake. He's a good on ball defender and experienced PG to come off the bench when required to control the tempo and run some plays. Sure his outrageous drives to the basket pissed me off sometimes but he's good for drawing a couple of charges a game and defensive plays which can help swing momentum. Rillie seems to only want dynamic ball handlers and athletic bigs. Its all good if he has them playing as a team but at the moment its one pass and shoot under pressure offense. Opposition guards can blow by and penetrate too easily and defensively seem out of position to even rebound. I hope they didn't pay too much for Pinder. He is still raw but has poor touch around the rim and he's low IQ. Still, good coaching gets the best out of players and a good team cover each others weaknesses. Blame should be squarely on Rillie

Drmic played his best basketball at Adelaide.....That is half correct, it was West Adelaide nbl1

You don't score 35 on debut by accident

Give this team to Trevor and they would be much better

give ANY team in the NBL to Gleeson and they'd be better ... except maybe JJs and Cairns

Drimic start to this season has been fantastic, yes last season he was good but got better this season imo.
You can't play like the nba in the nbl, you also need defenders, not pretend defenders, I believe Perth will be alright, make the play inns, it takes time to form a championship squad.
Gleeson for all his great coaching did get a squad handed to him by bevo, Gleeson ran with it and yes Gleeson would have this squad more competitive but I don’t believe he’d have chosen some of the players brought in.

"Gleeson would have this squad more competitive but I don't believe he’d have chosen some of the players brought in"

Understatement of the year. ;)

They didn't run enough plays for Cotton against United. Delly and Ili just denied the ball and it was 4 on 4 half the time.

This isn't necessarily on Rillie though, it could also have been poor play-running decisions and court guidance by Webster bros and others

But yeah, I guess it is on Rillie if he didn't correct it throughout the game

Usher basketball IQ is horrible , bis iso ball bad shots attempts is shocking

And Bryce's hasn't been much better
...yes Bryce isn't in best position to get his shots at times

But he has also struggled with not being the main focus of the offense and is missing being the volume shooter , from previous years

He hasn't adjusted

Additions of Pinder , Webster , usher , there is no reason to be one dimensional offensively



But rillie hasn't got any system , the players seem to be running the show , not him

Bryce is pressing and taking bad shots just to get shots up , he is literally horrible at PNR (with Pinder , holds the ball on the dribble way to long as he is still looking for bia own action rather then the easy play )

The issues are literally on rillie

He is NOT putting most of the guys in positiona to succeed based off there talent

These schemws on defense X offense don't work

He has pindwr playing as, xaviwrcook.light sitting him at the three point line setting screens and dribbling the ball up

Rather then in the post and the block

Usher is obviously sulking with the amount of low IQ shots and bad possessions on defence , he will just sit in the corner at times on offense

Othertimwa O. Defense not even rotate

Bryce doing the same jacking bad shots ,Ashe isn't in rythm

Guys are playing sfiah and rillie isn holding ng them accountable

If they aren't playing to your offensive schemws and doing simple things like boxing out and rotating on D

You javajor issues

Rillie most definitely has to go.

Roth was asked the other day about only three main scorers, Doyle, Crawford and McVeigh, he response was what's the question, commentator you only have three scorers, he basically laughed at the bloke and said what would you do, then finish with of course, shaking his head.

The above point is Cotton won you premierships, the first when cats were just about to miss finals till he got there, yes you cat supporters are allowed your opinion but it is crap, every play should resolve Cotton followed by your next best two, as Cotton proved the other day passing to Sarr, set up offensive and defensive plays around him. Michael Jordan, Lebron James play D but they don’t do the dirty work, nor did Andrew Gaze.

Cotton is an out and out champion and is flustered by how the team is going, if the club not happy with him I’m certain a few other clubs would be.

"The above point is Cotton won you premierships"

*championships

You are spot on, Cotton does not look happy out there, and its a worry as a Cats fan.. its very hard to get a import on his level let alone one that sticks around.

Add me to the "shoot Rillie into the sun" list. Or just fire him, whatever happens quicker.

Wonder of scottfiaher is being considered as a replacement rather then gleeson

So, they are his good points. Any weaknesses?

Personally I don't think anyone is being considered. They extended him before the season.

They could finish with the wooden spoon this year and I genuinely don't think Danny Mills would give Rillie the sack.

Still got a tiny flicker of faith in Rillie but have asked Santa for a Jackjumpers jersey for xmas just in case.

Wildcat's fans are absolute flogs !!!! first you boo Travers then want the coaches head after five games and bag out Wagstaff when he's one of the players giving all his got. He may be getting older but don't forget his veteran presence and all he has done for this club. Travers only left because the Cavs told him too and why would he want to come back and play for such crap fans !!! Red army is an absolute disgrace !!!!

Now hold on a second. Although I love the passion keeping Rillie around until the end of this campaign and writing the season off will be worth it, despite being the original poster who called for heads to roll last season, assuming Gleeson is hired after his notice period runs out. Play the long game, we've got to slow cook this thing.

buuuuuut with the combo of SEG ownership and GM Mills in charge even if there was a change at season end it will probably result in another boneheaded appointment so not sure we can win as fans under this regime which is a scary thought.

Surely Gleeson's statements from the past on his unwillingness to move the family away from Perth makes this a massive no brainer though. Hopefully money isn't an issue because Hutchy comes first in terms of getting paid another fat bonus for increasing debt held by the parent company to record levels via stupid acquisitions.

Argh.

I said this team needed a playmaking/defending import PG who can knock down the open shot at a decent rate. They need a floor general and don't need Cotton trying to do everything on offense for the to flow.

The import 4 is okay but that means you would’ve needed a different dynamic out of the Webster brothers & Usher. Webster brothers don’t create shots for Cotton & not great defense players. Usher is a good defensive player but still new to the league, also young so will pick up those fouls and then mentally he’s out of it.

"Plenty of new imports have come to the NBL lit it up initially and then once opposition teams have worked them out and taken away their strengths and decline to being mediocre or even poor imports after the hot start. Jarrid Frye at the 36ers about ten years ago comes to mind, MVP of the Blitz and got cut by midseason."

JP Tokoto comes to mind.

For every James Ennis of the Gleeson era, there was a Nick Kay/Greg Hire/Matt Knight glue guy. Completely agree that we're missing those types of guys.

F'd up taking Thomas over Big Sauce last season and Okwera over Gak this season imo, maybe we never had them in the first place dunno.

Nbl fan, go back and pay attention to Usher on the defensive end.

Absolutely

Horrific

Can't stay in front of anyone. Any on ball action results in a complete f up.

His weakside understanding rotation is non existent. Check out how many points at the hoop, and dunks, are the result of him being out of position.

What’s frustrating is he was exactly this defensively in Europe, but somehow has the rep of being a defender. Jumping around, beating chest and clapping don’t equal a good defender anywhere, outside of college.

BillyBob

Lol I said a good not great! Remember he's still 6’7 trying to guard quick guards all game when he’s in that’s not an easy task ... if he was guarding his natural position/height he would be fine. That’s why I believed an defensive PG would’ve been the right fit instead of a 4 man

All sides switch now days, you have to be able to guard more than one position, at this stage his D has been dreadful.

Jumping around, beating chest and clapping don't equal a good defender anywhere, outside of college.

Danny Mills exercised the third-year option on Rillie's contract before the season commenced. I don't think he's going to sack him.

I wonder what KPI/Expectations are set for Rillie this season by Mills. Top 4 ? Top 2 ? Might be lucky to get top 5 with their non-existent defence.

Rillie would have been able to say after last season "this was not the team I would of assembled" as he came late into the mix when Morrison quit suddenly. After this season there is really no excuses.

On overtime tonight Pete Hooley was saying their rebounding and defence problems from last year have not been fixed and he is worried for them.

The questions for SEM, can they risk another season getting down to one basket to get some sort of "finals" action or do they bring an experienced head coach to try and salvage another failing campaign.

Interesting Podcast (around 17 min mark) shared from X:
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-nbl-pocket-podcast/id1446971704?i=1000631649449

"Wildcats are cooked without major changes"
"The optics on court are so bad"
"Rillie doesnt seem to have any gravitas/strength over this group"
"Different team same problems from last year"
"Cotton is not happy...may look to greener pastures"

They are all waiting for Gleeson to walk through that door

Itdefseems like the group isn't responding to rillie

I said same thing half way through last year

Let's see if things change like last year

The dribble podcast interview with Trev from today - he is contracted with Toronto till next June or July, has loads of corporate stuff to do atm along with media commitments and seems to have no interest in pursuing a coaching role coaching this or into next year. Did say he plans to finish his coaching career in Australia. Maybe it's all a big decoy, who knows.

NBA contracts end on 30 June each year.

Perfect timing for the next NBL season.

Bump. He's just a terrible coach. This team is too good to be playing so poorly.

I want to like Rillie as a coach. He says all the right things but it certainly isn't transitioning into gametime action. Surely they can run some offensive plays it's not that hard.

The cats do not have the luxury of many more games "to gel" as coach Rillie seems to think. Few more losses and its season over.

Rillie sucking hard this season aligns with 30 June next year. Thank you JR. #Gleeson2024

In the media today Gleeson ready to coach was widely circulated. Can the cats ownership risk losing 5 time championship head coach to another team or lock him in now and send Rillie home.

With Gleeson the two biggest issues: Rebounding and Defence would surely be addressed.

#Gleeson2024

Correct me if I'm interpreting Shane Heal (I think) wrong;

If Trev took a coaching job now - and assuming it's for less than the outstanding amount from his current Toronto contract - it would be deducted from his NBA $$$. So dumb hypothetical if Cats signed him for $1 he gets his Toronto money less $1 so it evens out?

I know it's probably way more complicated than that but get on the blower Hutchy for the love of the game!