Inconsistent Perth Drops Final Ball

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

The Perth Wildcats were eliminated from the Finals on Sunday, with coach John Rillie lamenting an inconsistent season across the board.

The Wildcats rode a rollercoaster throughout the season, with constant winning and losing streaks, and weren’t able to advance to the Playoffs after a sudden-death horror show against the Cairns Taipans.

The ‘Cats lost 91-78 to the Taipans in the Play-In Game, who proved their hunger to advance into the Playoffs.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wildcats out ? Taipans in ?<br><br>4?? Teams left and The Playoffs are officially underway ?<br><br>Catch all the Playoffs action live & free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies, 10 Peach & 10 play ? <a href="https://t.co/elSBQ2o3a8">pic.twitter.com/elSBQ2o3a8</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1624633785554722823?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Rillie commented on significant changes that need to take place in the offseason, which will hopefully lead to more stable performances.

“I didn’t take this job to finish sixth and lose out in a Play-In,” Rillie said.

“Our consistency has to raise. Our consistency, our highs and lows, the crevasses were too deep.

“Cairns were very consistent with their performance throughout the regular season, and that’s why they put themselves in a position to host home games in the Playoffs.”

The Wildcats were behind for the entire game on Sunday, struggling to get into a flow or rhythm during the contest.

Rillie admitted the loss was down to the Wildcats failing to “perform at the level necessary”.

“At the end of the day, you’re a professional athlete. We’re all accountable for our performance, we just didn’t perform at the level necessary,” he said.

All eyes will be on Rillie and the coaching staff in the offseason to determine whether Perth can fix their rebounding and defensive deficiencies to hopefully avoid a repeat next season.