No Norton, no Cats.

Both sides only making the numbers up in finals, if United get off to a good start they should win , if Perth stay close they should win down the stretch, I can see Cotton winning this, Perth by two.

This matchup feels like a battle to see who has the slightly better worst form.

Norton's absence is a gift

So I'll tip United to ease their season back from the brink of disarray with a victory

Wildcats $1.82. United @$2.

Seems generous to me. Hoping this means the bookies got word that a big serve of delicious home cooking is coming our way tonight :p

Seems pretty right- Two good teams unusually coming off losses, both missing players (Norton and Frazier vs Agada)

Perth's absences hit them harder, especially after United just signed Baba who does many of the things Agada does well

But of course, Perth has home court advantage

So it's pretty even but Perth probably deserves very slight favoritism on basis of home court

I expect a close one, if either team doesn't look desperate then something's wrong and they don't deserve to win a title. Should be fun to watch

Sitting here ready for some hurt

A rare tipoff after sunset.

Gaze would be proud of Peatlings charge on Law. Ricky Grace still having nightmares

Haha how's the crowd whining about the Law charge after Cotton got away with steamrolling Shea Ili a minute earlier.

The cheek of them!!

Luuuuuuuke!

Jack White is one of my favorite players. Surprised its his first game at the jungle

Lv.. please, goulding took blanchfields legs out, illi double dribbled, the xommentary called it a block as pearling stepped into the contact and the white just went straight through wagstaff for a block... but united is getting hard done by..

It defies the laws of physics when Barlow and especially Delly hit a three. Some of the worst shooting mechanics you could ever hope to see.

Yeah i never understood how refs can let it go uncalled when a player takes another players legs out sliding for a loose ball

Aylen straight up point shaving

The refs dominating this game!!

That Hulporti kid plays real hard

Ripper game of hoops, tough hard contest.

Walking into the dressing room at HT United players don't seem happy with one another.

Sneak brown on for the second half

Damn it, Vic Lawl has showed up tonight.

Dumb by Vic Law

Shoot out! Cotton vs....Delly!

Coming into this i expected JLA or Goulding. But no its Delly in beast mode

I seem to be asking this every week but how the hell did ScoMo con his way into head coaching gig.

From Gleesons well oiled machine to just hoping either Cotton or Law go off.

^ask Craig Hutchinson

Sports Entertainment Group
Danny Mills

Don't forget these two. They need to wake up to themselves and reassess.

If the commentary says tries to take the bump is that not an obvious foul in basketball???

Good question Screeningnick. He'd be the least charismatic conman to get a coaching gig too

Shea Ili with the Greg Hire, Damo style hustle play in the Cats building

United seems to want it 1% more. Still life in this though

I thought it might be over the back of travers

Started the 4th with a Zunic White Cotton line up and it backfired quickly. Haven't been able to recover

New Perth Wildcats head coach Scott Morrison said it was a stroke of luck and an already established relationship with Danny Mills has led him to the WA hot seat.

Some serious dead wood in the wildcats squad .

So you can smash a guy in the back of the head, cannon into another player with the ball and get the call.... ok...

Travers is a fkn terrible ball handler.
There's no way he's going to the NBA.

Well done United!

Wow great D by United, especially Ili on Cotton and White on Law

Huge win in context of season

Some serious dead wood in the wildcats squad

Fernadez for MVP. Some of the reffing absolutely atrocious

First three game losing stretch at home since 1999.

Wagstaff went one too many and if I hear one more time that Luke Travers is nba bound then I must be watching different games

CG43 definitely should not have been the player of the game with that shot selection down the stretch - Ili for me was PotG, although I'm sure Cotton's minutes helped him too.

Every Perth fan was worried when S.E.G bought the club and you can see it already. The soul is gone, players aren't playing for the club.
It's a slippery slope that'll put them in 36s territory off the court very quickly.

Cats have lost their toughness down the stretch. United out wilcatting the wildcats. Its why i like United for the championship. Cats cant get it done on the defensive end anymore. Lock down Cotton and they have no other way to get it done

If perth got away with what united did in this game this forum would break. Illi fouls, every time, he holds off ball he gets away with blue murder. Baba supposedly didn't have any knee extension? What is a raised knee then? Game was a joke, league is a joke. After the usf on pinder and this shitshow the league is headed for bust, why would a highly skilled player want to come here and get bashed from pillar to post??

Nothing pleases me more than seeing Perth fans whinge after a loss. Even better when its against United. They are giving 6ers fans a run for their money as biggest whingers

Two of Illis steals should have been fouls and Baba definitely had a knee extended. Did the home cooking leave with Trev?

Great game, two quality sides. Perth still strong but not winning it this season. United's White is very good.
Competition is Sydney’s to lose.

Every Perth fan was worried when S.E.G bought the club and you can see it already. The soul is gone, players aren't playing for the club.
It's a slippery slope that'll put them in 36s territory off the court very quickly.

Not blaming ref's here .
It's the cattle .
I'm not even convinced about the whole vic law bryce cotton combo

I seem to be asking this every week but how the hell did ScoMo con his way into head coaching gig.

Signing a D-League coach for NBL is awful, only Will Weaver was an outlier.

Thank you bol. This forum had a large thread about the league dying and people getting disinterested well this sort of trash officiating contributes to it. Instead of cotton getting the ball and putting on a show he is manhandled off ball, instead of law playing we get Kevin bloody white because we gave law at least one terrible call and a couple 50 50s...

The officiating was deplorable and frankly ruined a good game.

Weaver was also nba assistant before the g league.

Refs, refs refs, yes they are shit, but both ways.

Keep cotton,Norton and shervill and clean the rest out .

Refs are shit but United still clearly the better team tonight.
I felt the Cats were fortunate to stick close for as long as we did.

I also feel like the team itself would look a lot better if it was healthy. The depth tapers off fast though and it has been exposed with these injuries.

Give this team to Trev and it'd be looking a lot less lame. We still seem to have zero identity under ScoMo.

What are the chances of Danny Mills sacking his good mate before the three years is up? Pretty much zero chance i reckon

Yes the cats are missing some good players but with some kind of system in place they should still be winning most games at home. Good examples are Roth at the JJ's or last season under Gleeson winning the SF series with three players injured. I cant see what Morrison is implementing here yet.

Wowww that reffing was disgusting !!!! has the league decided to not call travels anymore??? JLA took five steps and nothing was called !And that has happened all year with numerous players . I am really finding it hard to watch games this year with the officiating so bad . one game they allow NBA continuation after fouling then the next game they dont . so confusing and frustrating to watch ...

It was interesting how badly they fell apart as Cotton was being denied good touches

But, Zunic not quite there yet, Travers solid but more of a Small forward. if Norton plays 25 minutes their offense might look different

This weekend for United, 2 tough, close contests against likely playoffs opponents. Looking fwd to it.

Biggest issue for Perth is how to rest cotton during games before finals. They obviously need Norton and Frazier back but they need to get BC's minutes below 30.

Why do Perth fans blame the refs as even if they were good, it would still be the same result. Melb smothered BC and forced someone else too step up in the 4th. No one rose to the occasion. Perth took it to Melb for 3qtrs, just not enough depth to get the W

Without seeing the score but seeing the comments I assume Perth lost. Always someone else's fault.

Wildecats are kitty cats.. they are done... like adelaide 3rd impirt no good mo show going to hurt them.. Travers overhyped
. Era is on trend downwards .. quote me Hermann H Mann

No this was cats loss , in particular poor three point shooting is a key factor. last game we were 17% from the 3 point line compared to 23% from the three point line. With a team that lacks depth in the front line , poor three point shooting will end things quick. In our initial home games everyone was hitting threes which made up for our poor rebounding and defence.

In particular Zunich and Wagstaff struggling from the arc, Travers had a poor one from the 3 point. Get these guys shooting a 1000 three point shots in training.

Team looks like it needs a clear out at the end of the season, potentially including the coach. (who may be another Shamir)

Norton especially looking injury prone and needs to maybe head back to a bench role with reduced minutes - try and pick up someone with decent three point shooting and defensive capabilities.

The John Brown fiasco is definitely starting to bite. Cotton needs to get on a plane somewhere to sort out his citizenship.

United deserved the win no doubt but it doesn't change the fact the reffing was still trash.

No one else's fault Morrison and Mills should cop the blame for this wasted season.

Reffing was trash, who knows the actual result, united may well of still won, but it ruined a good game. Do people pay to see highly skilled players like cotton get manhandled off ball, yeah we all want to watch Kevin white make plays... I mean illi didn't even get called for that double dribble, that's a dead set disgrace for a league that considers itself one of the best...

I remember commenting at half time to a mate in the crowd that this has been a fun game to watch a time went on it was bloody annoying and I missed the days of Nick Kay and how Jack White reminds me a lot of Kay in how he impacts games without needing plays ran him and he deserves much love and respect as he's a ripper of a player and someone that should make many Boomers camps.

Apart from the obvious reffing issues can someone explain why JLA had 2 fouls in the first quarter and didn’t get another until the end of the game... we kinda went at him for two possessions and he kept his hands out completely avoiding getting that third foul but the Wildcats didn’t attack him time and time again as they should have.

This league is frustrating in terms of when someone is hot As Goulding has 10 points and subbed out after 3 minutes or when the best player in the opposition is in foul trouble they don’t go after him. Heck even a retaliation double foul is worth it.

I know I contradict myself with saying I want to see the best players both on and off the court but circumstances are what matters here and momentum in a basketball game can change on a foul.

As far as Cotton in the last quarter, did Perth majorly fuck up by not having Majok out there I’m talking that the best Wildcats teams had someone that would ser a heavy pick and it would hurt the opposition but we had tiny players out there until Law fouled out and Hodgson didn’t make Ili think twice about where he was… yeah I left feeling frustrated and only a bit of that is because Hungry Jacks in the city was closed after the game so no burgers on the way home, bloody daylight savings

Wagstaff not struggling he's finished.

Biggest difference is they haven't recruited a legit inside presence.
Yes cotton has been the mvp but they have had Mooney, Plummlee, Brandt, Kay, Redhage and Knight always inside.
Gleeson with this roster would be in a similar spot. Blame the recruiting. Donut team, no inside presence

I don't think Norton is injury prone, I do think his ultimate bravery to play injured with no fear in last year's finals has come back to haunt the Wildcats as he neither recuperated or had a proper preseason and it has affected the team.

The Wildcats just seem a better team with Norton on the floor. However because he isn't the flashy PG he will have a career of people suggesting he move to the bench. The same as his predecessor Damo copped.

There's still reason for optimism for this season because theres a lot of room for improvement. Obviously having norton and frazier back will help their on ball D and offense. If we can get Frazier firing at the right time of year he might become the Terrico White X factor in the finals. He's here to stay now so they've got to try get him going. Hodgeson was pretty good last night. He's not the athletic big man that they need with their style of play but if he can crash the boards like he did last night and keep his bone head turnovers to a minimum and try keep his cool(i know it's a lot to ask) then he'll be holding down his role in the team very well. Its still a very solid and dangerous team.

Norton keeps getting leg related injuries for a style of play that involves charging past people into the paint. Great player but he is looking super susceptible to injury and either will retire early from pro-ball or have to look at being a spark off the bench where he can go hard for 20 minutes a game and sit the rest out. I have similar concerns for Hodgson's calfs.

You could argue Frazier has similar problems minus being a great player, what I dont understand is why the cats never brought in an injury replacement during the year which may have qualified for finals (assuming we even make it) Even last few weeks some NBL1 style player would of added some depth.

Really poor management of the roster.

The salty Perth fans now turning on all of their own. Fantastic.

Didn't watch the game or look at scores but can tell cats lost by fan comments. Refs and coach again hey?

United guards have been holding Cotton off the ball illegally for years now, he doesn't even complain about it any more cos the refs do nothing. United would have won regardless, our decision making especially down the stretch was terrible, risky passes to Cotton resulting in turnovers and United made all the correct decisions. Norton is the issue, no gritty ball handler at all when he's out, I thought Zunich might've been up to the task after playing with the Boomers and getting that experience, but that hasn't helped. Travers bringing the ball up the court seems to work, even if it looks so shaky each time. Would like to see Cotton play PG more often when he's practically getting tagged, wait for the double team then find the open man as he is a good passer.

At this stage it's Kings > daylight > United > Cats/Hawks/Phoenix/JJ's

The supporting cast f@cks it up again. When required Newley, Ili, JLA hit open 3's. When required Wagstaff, Blanchfield, Travers did not. Wagstaff deserves veteran respect but towards the end of a game has a tendency to put his slow hands in and get those fouls that are like putting a dagger in yourself, utterly stupid andd rarely work out for the Wildcats advantage. The inconsistent reffing is a 2 way street. Can someone explain to me how if a defensive player is bowled over by obvious contact and a layup is missed by a mile as a result there is a no call. Surely it's either a block or a charge but not a no call. Bewilders me every time.

Wildcats biggest issue this season isnt the coach, its the recruiting. We have a terrible bench and it shows when we have an injury to someone in the starting lineup.

Without Norton we are left with White and Zuric who are both terrible.

On top of that, our bench as a whole is rubbish...

Cat blame the refs for this, they are bad both ways not just one way.

Agreed the lack of quality mid-career players on our bench is a telling factor. Some of the guys like Dech have gone on to be better elsewhere.

What I am not happy about is scomo talking how he was pleased with the cats. The sounds like somone coaching a wooden spoon team and not a top franchise of the NBL. Wildcats history is about winning , not about being pleased with losing. Gleeson was never happy with losing.

So where was all this salty talk at the start of the season? No where. Lose 3 in a row @home and the sky is falling in.
"I don't mind if the JackJumpers take fourth spot from us," This is how bad the fickle Perth fans are. They are volunteering to #losethestreak

Boba Fett - You cant have that talk at the start of the season due to the fact fans havent seen how the product works. I think that comment was made purely because some feel this team dont deserve a top 4 finish. At least thats how I read it.

First three game losing stretch at home since 1999.

We saw the problems right from the season, all of the expert commentary said cats needed more depth in the 4 spot not in the last month but from the beginning of the season. Cats had a good run early against mostly bottom teams. This problem was something that was easily predictable as lack of depth and injuries occurred.

When the management finally woke up, they tried to bring an already contracted player around the deadline and failed.

To be honest JackJumpers would show better heart in the finals, the cats are pretty much cooked for this season. Cotton looks last night like he needs a month off. Losing the finals race might be a way for the organisation to realise that success is not a a guarantee - its something you have to strive for both on and off the court.

Look at Melbourne- year after year assembling a top talent team and on our side with sold out membership we have been relying too much on cotton and lacklustre recruiting. (e.g. why no next star ?)

I've watched pretty much all wildcats games this season and I don't think sComo has coached them to one win, was giving him the benefit of the doubt early as he had no preseason with the team and pretty much met the guys when they flew out for preseason but there has been no changes/improvements to the game play since they got home and all the wins have been because Cotton and Law have refused to lose.

So only 10192 people there last night. Hardly a KR sellout.

First three game losing stretch at home since 1999.

So only 10192 people there last night. Hardly a KR sellout.

So far this season: Kings have been cooked, Hawks have been cooked, SEM have been cooked, and now the Cats are cooked. Only SEM I feel is likely to finish outside the top 4 when all is said and done.

Bearing in mind that was the year we had 2,374 players get injured and were suiting up 8-man SBL rotations for part of the season.

People underestimate the intimidation factor of Gleeson whinging and screaming at the referees the entire game.

Likely also why Perth fans are hating on referees a lot more this season.

Hating on the referees the same amount as usual... much like all fans do of every team when they lose.

The officiating has definitely taken a turn for the worse this year, which is why offense is down across the board.

They're hardly cooked

They're 14-9 with 3 home games against bottom opponents coming up, so they'll bne 17-9 before you know it

Not terrible considering Norton has missed 9 games, Hodgson 10, Blanchfield 5 and Frazier 8

I'm the last person to defend Perth but yeah, those are the facts as I see them

But hey, keep the negativity going, I'm kind of enjoying it :-)

@ Nightwing, correct, 100%.

3 consecutive home losses is lame, but the real hurt came today as we were listed as DUDS for the 2nd week in a row.

https://nbl.com.au/news/studs-and-duds-round-17-nbl22

https://nbl.com.au/news/studs-and-duds-round-18-nbl22

What is veteran respect regarding wagstaff drexler?

It's all about money.

Should have retired last year and now it's embarrassing to watch .

Wagstaff was actually pretty good the first half of the season I thought, when guys were running him off the line and he was getting inside and finishing and/or drawing fouls. His inconsistent outside shot however has taken that away.

People underestimate the intimidation factor of Gleeson whinging and screaming at the referees the entire game.

Wagstaff was actually pretty good the first half of the season I thought, when guys were running him off the line and he was getting inside and finishing and/or drawing fouls. His inconsistent outside shot however has taken that away.

Struggled last season??

Wagstaff looks great when the team going well .
But doesn't do much when no one else is delivering .
I'm the first to say he's been fantastic for years but sometimes it's good to go out when your near the top .