I think that maybe on the cards pretty quickly.Similar to Kings flop of a coach.

Those who thought he could coach maybe have started rethinking that early in the season.

From a college coach to NBL is a big step up.

Matt Neilson maybe getting a phone call.

Perthworld, you really are no better than Jacket.

Agreed Fire Him!
Also what happened to Pinder- had like 4 good games all season!
and the imports were also AWOL!
I think Neilson is looking really comfortable as Pop's 2nd in charge! Won't even come close to coming back to the NBL!

I told you guys offensive wasn't a big problem it was defense. Webster brothers were inconsistent and couldn't guard Doyle. Had Doolittle trying to guard Crawford, Doyle & McVeigh

I said they needed a defensive PG who can also score, Cotton can’t do all the scoring and facilitating himself. Cotton gets doubled and kicks it out to players who can’t shoot 3’s. Scott Roth exploited forcing others beat you instead of Cotton and Perth couldn’t hit shots. Perth went 3-13 from 3 with Cotton the only player who hit one

What makes Doyle so dangerous is he has shooters around him, you can’t really double him and he’s a helluva 1 on 1 player. Perth go get a scoring guard that can defend with Cotton!

I think that maybe on the cards pretty quickly.Similar to Kings flop of a coach.

Those who thought he could coach maybe have started rethinking that early in the season.

From a college coach to NBL is a big step up.

Get rid of him tomorrow.

Perth should do a proper review, SEM are doing it and most clubs would. Cats had a team of names, most highly paid,Doolittle was fine, Cotton also great but lots others were so inconsistent, Harris, Pinder, Websters, Wagstaff, Usher was liability though had two very good games, thought he turned the corner a few weeks back, but went to rubbish again. To many poor defenders, Cotton not great either but clearly a high iq and great offensive player. When you look at overall, Rillie might have done ok, but the review should find out.

Agreed Fire Him!
Also what happened to Pinder- had like 4 good games all season!
and the imports were also AWOL!

Defense was the main issue.

Damian Martin was the perfect fit alongside Cotton- Pass- first offensive player who can impact a game without taking shots of his own, and great defender. The Webster bros are neither of those things.

That's where I'd start. Understand you have the best player in the NBL, and pick the right back court partner alongside him.

Get rid of him tomorrow.

A player like Mitch Norton would be handy to have to come off the bench and provide solid minutes defending the better guards.. oh wait

Yeah sack him if Gleeson is available. If not give him another year and see what he can do with some better imports.

They need a bigger rebounding 4/5 who can defend. Doolittle has been good but not the right fit in the 4 position hence played better at the 3. Pinder at the 4 is more suited to him but wow you need to take the good with the bad with him he's so inconsistent. And as mentioned already a more potent scoring guard to help out Bryce. Usher was a bust

Crazy looking back now to think Perth had the opportunity to sign Roth and didn't a massive sliding door moment for perth

Crazy looking back now to think Perth had the opportunity to sign Roth and didn't

It was just unlucky timing wasn't it?

Didn't Tassie sign Roth a few months before Trev got the NBA gig?

What could have been for the cats. Roth = Gleeson 2.0

I recall that was the timeframe which was unfortunate.

I'm sure Bendat ownership would have locked him in but they were on the way out.

Trev hadn't left when Roth was signed. Usher not getting replaced may have been what ultimately cost us. Doolittle is a great glue guy and excellent do it all, but perth needs a legit number two option that can turn up all the time, should be Pinder but not a chance with Rillie as coach and his system. It is somewhat comical that this team had all season to devise a strategy to solve what happens when BC is double teamed... and they couldn't or couldn't execute... their best and worst was to far apart and not getting it done in game 2 exposed them to tactical adjustments, not their strength. You would never see Trev get out coached twice in a row...

Bol you would think the wildcats must have had an inkling that Gleason was looking at opportunities overseas . They have the budget should have kept Roth on as a highly paid assistant with the promise he would get promoted once Gleason left . They also let Jacob chance walk as well who is now probably the best assistant in the league

LK got in early but if Bendat ownership wasn't selling up at the time I'm sure they would have had a succession plan in place.

It was interesting what Roth said in the postgame interview tonight that Damian Martin gave him his reference to get the Tasmanian job

Geez that's heartwarming yet depressing at the same time, due to what we've been left with.

I thought he said Wagstaff and Damian Martin?

Also Perth fans reacting when they don't win the championship, love to see it.

Kinda sad to see that Tai Webster hasn't kicked on as much as what had been hoped circa 3-4 years ago.

KET correct I forgot to mention wagstaff as well it just shows how much that wildcats playing must have rated Roth internally it would have been a seamless transition to go straight from Gleason to roth

"Crazy looking back now to think Perth had the opportunity to sign Roth and didn't a massive sliding door moment for perth."

No they didn't. They would have had to sack Trevor Gleeson first.

Yes- Damo and Wagstaff gave him the references.

3 seasons, at minimum 2 grand finals and a semi final appearance. Not many coaches in NBL history have achieved that before- let alone with a brand new franchise?

Phil Smyth springs to mind, and Al Westover. But there wouldn't have been many.

Buford too of course but only coached 2 years

Still, very different circumstances. Consider how other recent new arrivals went over their first few years- Phoenix. Or Sydney and Brisbane re-entering the league, or go back to the 00's and 90's with NZ and Cairns.

It's hard to judge NBL coaches sometimes. We're often talking about players we haven't seen before. Like Usher- started the season on fire with 35 points. Looked lost and lacking confidence over the last couple of games. If he was under another NBL coach, different system, could be be a much better player? Possibly but it's hard to know.

Gleeson knocked back big $ offer in Japan to stay in Perth, I'm sure they thought he was safe.
Who expected an nba offer?

I wonder how he’s going with Doc Rivers seeing that’s not the guy who wanted him

Look, I've seen enough of Rillie to think he isn't a top-tier NBL coach. He;s not in the same conversation as Roth, Vickerman or Moar- who have achieved quality results with different groups over multiple seasons.

But from bird's eye view, Perth didn't do badly this season. Finished 2nd on the ladder (which is better than the pre-season expectations, where bookies had them about equal 3rd favourite with NZ, behind Sydney then United). They won a semi-final game, coming off a 3 week break, against a very good team. I thought Tassie might sweep them and wasn't alone in that.

So does Rillie deserve another year? Not sure.

But it's not like Gleeson's calling and asking for his job back. Depends who's available too.

I'd guess there would be 6 other fanbases happy to have the results Perth did this year.

Yeah, that's exactly right.

The expectations are high in Perth, and it's not easy working out to what extent their weaknesses were down to Rillie.

I would say, Cotton only had 8 field goal attempts last night. It looked a little like earlier this season where that was happening. So I guess that's mostly on Rillie

If Rillie is contracted he'll get another season, the side wasn’t that good. Usher was a major disappointed except for few games, Harris is a toiler but not starter. Pinder regressed after he couldn’t get Prima Donna status he got in Cairns, guards not good enough, except Bryce. I suppose where I’m shooting my self in the foot is he put side together, still overachieved with what he had.

Moar is not up there in Vickerman, Roth class, his side was stacked, yes they had injuries but still had a good team, they got better when Jessup went down.

They are really lacking 3 Point shooters! That should be the off season priority. The amount of open shots given up last night was shocking. Bryce needs help! Wasting best years of his career now!

Yeah i was thinking the same thing. Wasting prime Bryce years because of the last two dud coaches.

The cats were an absolute rabble in defense and offense last night. Tassie were super impressive executing and taking them out of their preferred style of play.

Anonymightymouse it's called succession planning it’s happened a few times in the afl

Roth is an extraordinary coach, he is getting average players to work so well together and run through brick walls for him. Incredible effort.

Rillie took over a team that failed to make the playoffs, took them to the play in stage in his first year, semi finals in his second, he deserves another crack. It's GF or bust however and yes, they need more shooters and players with better IQ's than the ones they have.

Don't you just love the "I told you so" brigade who would be nowhere to be seen if Perth had advanced or heaven forbid, won the whole thing.

"Anonymightymouse it's called succession planning it's happened a few times in the afl"

Except Scott Roth wasn't going to turn down a definite job now for a maybe job in the future.

Spot on, Perth just got unlucky with Gleeson winning 5 titles in 8 years and then deciding to leave

You don't kick successful coaches out with succession plans. Look how that worked out for Collingwood with Mick Malthouse.

Gus, I think you would find PerthWorld has been consistent the whole season that Rillie was the wrong coach and that the play Bryce 40 minutes a game and hope he wins it for you is not a sustainable gameplan.

They even said if Perth was to go on and win the championship it doesn't change that.

I completely agree with their stance.

I looked at Aussie Hoopla last night and if it is accurate for contract status then they have 2 development player guards moving on to full roster spot contacts plus the "future of the club" that Rillie nailed to the bench for the season. What is going to change in the next 6-7 months such that Rillie will feel more confident giving them minutes?

Contracted (no option)

Ruscoe-Nance, M Harris, Henshall, Pinder and possibly Okwera's 2nd year.

Sarr is also contracted on the standard 2 year NS but won't be back.

Player option

Cotton

Team Option

Webster Bros

Off contract

Zunic, Wagstaff, Usher and Doolittle

H Harris is also contracted... knew I missed someone

Cotton, now there is an import that could be useful at a lot clubs. Wonder what he thought of Mike Kelly coaching, imagine replacing Crawford with Cotton in Tasmania. His wage packet have to come into account I suppose.

Gus, I think you would find PerthWorld has been consistent the whole season that Rillie was the wrong coach and that the play Bryce 40 minutes a game and hope he wins it for you is not a sustainable gameplan.

It's unreal that Rillie's inability to effectively counter Bryce being locked down is still being discussed after game 3 of a semi final series.

Its clear the league has been responding to Cotton with bigger, faster and more athletic defenders. Whilst Cotton is still in the top tier of imports, if we say he is Jordan in this league, he is missing his Pippen on the side.

Cotton looked a lot better when he had players like Terico White around him who would score in buckets.

Usher was a problem all season and it came home in this series, you need reliable secondary scorers. They also played too small, I would have started Sarr in the 5 in this series, to counter their big guys. Rillie never changed his strategy and you get the same outcome.

Interesting decisions ahead for Perth....On the coach, finishing second on the ladder is a great achievement so overall a tick, noting he momentarily seemed to have lost the locker room early in the year. I feel like the time is right for Perth to move on from the Cotton era. From afar, Cotton reminds me of Carmelo Anthony, amazing scorer. However, Melo could play iso and score. Cotton now seems to need multiple screens set for him. The competition needs a successful team in Perth to continue to thrive, hope they make the right moves and continue to be competitive.

Not sure I've ever seen Cotton as frustrated as last night.

Its a good point , Cotton is your single point of failure. Either his role changes along with reduction in overall salary or you take the money and get a similar scorer that can score and is bigger and more athletic e.g. Like Doyle.

I agree Angus Cotton looked exactly like he did during his slump earlier in the season, uninterested, not as lively and not involved in a lot of the plays Rillie was 'drawing up'. Great tactic JR, go back to that time when we sucked and Cotton couldn't buy a bucket - yeah lets give that a go!?

In the Gleeson era, the ball being forced out of Cotton's hands by a double-team generally did not end well for opponents.
He is a very willing passer, and picked teams apart ruthlessly. That worked because there were the right guys around him, and the right system in place that players actually followed.
So in terms of a single point of failure, he still technically was one back then, but he didn't need to put a heap of points on the scoreboard to "succeed".

It's hard to stay a willing passer when possessions keep dying in the arse as they did last night.

Bring back
Harris
Doolittle
Pinder
Cotton
Henshaw


The rest can go.

Usher is useless. Dumb player with incredibly low ceiling and IQ.

Corey is sadly badly washed

Tai is a solid backup but not starting level guard.

Wagstaff is clearly done

Zunic never got a fair shot under JR.

There is no way hutchy is going to buyout JR contract. It's a crying shame since the goat coach of the modern era in Gleeson is potentially available

So many great points made above.

Gus, I think you would find PerthWorld has been consistent the whole season that Rillie was the wrong coach and that the play Bryce 40 minutes a game and hope he wins it for you is not a sustainable gameplan.

Don't sleep on Moar and NZ. Delaney, WMW, Cheatham, The Lithuanian, Lamb all missed plenty of basketball but they won a play-in game and almost rolled Illawarra. Who knows who next seasons line-up will be, but that's a guy who can coach.

Perth had a golden run with Gleeson, Cotton, Martin and star imports like Ennis and Prather. But they're back with the pack now.

Getting Pinder was a major coup, just didn't pan out quite how it was meant to. I do understand your point of view PW but also realise winning and staying on top isn’t easy. Players like Damion Martin are irreplaceable. Rillie was trying to bring in this high tempo style of basketball, more entertaining in lots of punters eyes, he nearly got away with it. Cotton, gun, Doolittle glue guy but the rest roster was average or didn’t perform consistently.

Don't sleep on Moar and NZ.

I do understand your point of view PW but also realise winning and staying on top isn't easy.

One major difference between Rillie and Roth is their approach to game day. Rillie spends most of his time arguing with the referees while Roth spoke to the referees about twice the whole game. The rest of the time he just stood and watched what was happening in the game and barking out the occassional instruction. Interesting enough the Perth players were also "discussing" calls with the referees while in the main the Tasmanian players just got on with the game.

Rillie does not seem to be able to react to changing game day situations and certainly the stiffling of Cottom especially in the second half was a difference. Rillie seemed to do nothing to change the game plan. Of course the lack of three point shooting success by anyone other than Cotton did not help either which several people have already alluded to.

Is it the players, the team structure or the Coach. A bit of each I think.

Thats been Rillies Achilles (!) for 2 seasons. It takes him until at least the next game to change tactics - if at all - and unfortunately in game 3 of a playoff series thats not going to cut the mustard

Great of dolittle re-signing by Perth .He might be the most versatile defender in the league. Now Perth needs to go get a two way playmaking guard to help cotton out. They really need another legitimate scoring playmaking combo guard who can also defend.

All eyes on Tai and Corey's team options, and WMW's player option.

Expect Perth to go hard at WMW again.

Thanks for this, unfortunately it's standard practice on Hoops by many to not acknowledge if another party was right because of username rather than argument. It's weird but all NBL forums have been petty like this.

Sorry, but that's taking the piss - we aren't the Bullets. Yes, I harp on about SEG constantly but they are ultimately at fault here.

Gus, I think you would find PerthWorld has been consistent the whole season that Rillie was the wrong coach and that the play Bryce 40 minutes a game and hope he wins it for you is not a sustainable gameplan.

They even said if Perth was to go on and win the championship it doesn't change that.

You've missed the point yet again.

It's about long term not just one blip on the radar season.