Webster set for Round 11 return

Perth starting point guard Tai Webster will return to the Wildcats’ active roster for their Round 11 clash with Tasmania, following the 28-year-old’s absence in last week’s loss to Illawarra.

Webster was excluded from the side that travelled to the WIN Entertainment Centre for last Friday’s game due to illness.

Coach John Rillie says the guard was close to being well enough to even suit up last week.

“Tai was back on Monday at practice. If we were lucky enough to have a later game last week he would have been able to play, just us travelling over east earlier on just wasn’t worth it,” Rillie said.

“He’s had a good week, Tasmania is playing well and they’re just a tough team to prepare for so they got our full attention this week.

“It all comes under the illness, loading, all that type of stuff … they wear those Catapult (GPS) devices so we understand the workload and we’re trying to be mindful so we can avoid injury.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">? TEAM UPDATE ?<br><br>Tai Webster will return from illness for tomorrow night’s blockbuster clash against Tasmania JackJumpers at RAC Arena. ?? <a href="https://t.co/4k1TZNVhzW">pic.twitter.com/4k1TZNVhzW</a></p>&mdash; Perth Wildcats (@PerthWildcats) <a href="https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats/status/1735161758237839500?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 14, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Webster is not the only star guard set to make his NBL return this weekend. Tasmania has confirmed Milton Doyle will return to the JackJumpers’ active lineup following his absence last week due to his travelling to the US to attend his father’s funeral.

Rillie says his side won’t get sucked into scouting Doyle so heavily they forget about Tasmania’s other offensive weapons.

“He's one of the better performers in the NBL, but we can’t discredit the other guys on the floor,” Rillie continued. “Crawford is a handful, Will Magnay is coming back to show why he’s played time in the NBA, Jack McVeigh gets floated around as a First Team All-NBL guy, Anthony Drmic’s found a nice little role with Tasmania.

“Milton Doyle is a very good player and a clutch performer in this league, but we can’t disrespect them as a team and the other personnel they have on their roster.

“You’ve got to be on top of the scout for these guys, because the minute you don’t give them the respect or relax a little bit, they will punish you.”

Perth’s clash with Tasmania will tip off on Friday night at 9:30pm AEDT.