Why Perth's Captain Fantastic is going around again

Jesse Wagstaff has been a fixture in the NBL for almost 15 years. The veteran forward has elected to go around again in NBL25 and, in all honesty, the true majesty of what he has achieved in his storied career so far is likely underappreciated by the bulk of fans across the nation.

It’s an overused trope in media, but the best way to determine the sheer longevity of Wagstaff’s career is to take a look at the world when he made his NBL debut on September 25, 2009.

A 21-year-old Joe Ingles had just played a key role in the South Dragons’ first and only NBL title, LeBron James had just won his first NBA MVP, the humble iPad was yet to be released in any form, and ‘I Gotta Feeling’ by the Black Eyed Peas was on top of the charts.

Wagstaff himself is on the brink of history heading into next season. The now 38-year-old forward may have transformed his game to ward off the effects of Father Time, but he can still be relied on to set high-quality, bone-rattling screens, knock down his shots and put in maximum effort every second he is on the court.

He may not have earned the individual accolades of current and former teammates like Bryce Cotton and Damian Martin, but you don’t win six championships on pure luck. Now, he’s set to restart his quest to become the only player in NBL history to win seven titles and move clear of Martin and fellow NBL legends CJ Bruton and David Stiff.

Wagstaff and current South East Melbourne assistant coach Sam Mackinnon in Round 5 of the 2009-2010 season.

Wagstaff will also likely cement his legacy and break the all-time Wildcats appearance record held by Ricky Grace. A record that was previously thought to be all but insurmountable.

So, what keeps Wagstaff going in his pursuit of excellence? It’s well established he isn’t fazed by the promise of glory, legacy or records. Instead, he says, it’s simply the love of what he does.

“The fact I get to do this for a job and get to work towards a common goal every day, it’s a privilege. You mention the championships – and I know this is going to sound like a huge cliché – but I’m still just as hungry to win a championship as I've ever been, and that’s the way it should be,” Wagstaff told NBL Media.

“It’s not necessarily a desire to raise what you achieved last year, but that does have relevance. Whether you win or lose one the previous year, the ultimate goal, the ultimate desire and the hunger is still the same, and that’s the way for every team.

“This career as a basketball player is a pretty fortunate one and we’re spoilt to go to work every day to ultimately try and put a basketball through a hoop and hang out with our mates. It’s a pretty good job. 

“I feel like while I’m still contributing, happy to do it and enjoying the challenges of professional sport it’s a pretty simple decision.”

That simple decision to ink another one-year extension was completed in double-quick time this off-season. The dust had barely settled on Perth’s Playoff exit at the hands of Tasmania, before it was announced the club captain would be returning for another campaign.

Wagstaff clashes with New Zealand's Gary Wilkinson in the 2012 Grand Final Series.

That’s not always been the case though. Wagstaff, by his own admission, has considered retirement a number of times over recent years.

His re-signing wasn’t announced until mid-June ahead of NBL21 or NBL22, and it took until July for the club to confirm he would continue playing on through NBL20.

This year, though, the announcement was played in April, almost a week before free agency opened and the merry-go-round of player movement began.

“I’ve kind of almost retired the past four years,” Wagstaff admitted.

“The off-seasons in that time have each been quite different around re-signing or evaluating what myself and my family wanted to do.

“This year it was actually pretty easy, and it happened pretty quickly. My body still feels pretty good, I had a little bit of soreness over the off-season, but I’m never really required to play 40 minutes and that’s never really been my role throughout my career.

“My role has largely remained the same and I’m happy with what I’m contributing, I’m comfortable with the club, we have a great coaching and support staff, and we have a great group. In terms of all those it was a fairly easy decision.

“I’ve got three kids and they’re a really good age now, and hopefully they can look back and remember the first few years of their lives where dad got to do some pretty cool things on court. It’s all about them and enjoying the time with them.”

Although Wildcats fans will have breathed a sigh of relief at the announcement Wagstaff will continue his career into next season – not least because he was a genuine contributor and game-changer for John Rillie’s side last season – he’s not the only player to have re-committed to the club.

Import forward Kristian Doolittle will extend his stay in Perth to at least two seasons, while Tai Webster’s team option was picked up.

Kyle Zunic, Corey Webster, Jordan Usher and Next Star Alexandre Sarr have all departed, but the bulk of the roster will remain the same heading into next season, which is a far cry from recent roster builds at the club.

Wagstaff formed a key core of players with the likes of Martin, Shawn Redhage, and Greg Hire through Perth’s monumentally successful period in the 2010s, and he hopes the opportunity to run it back with a similar group in NBL25 will aid that pursuit of another championship for the NBL's most historically successful club.

Greg Hire, Damian Martin and Jesse Wagstaff pose following the announcement of Martin's retirement.

“I’ve been lucky enough to win six championships and if you look at most of those – not all since it’s not the only road to success – across the league having some stability in a roster has been key,” he said.

“It’s not the only way to do things but you look at the teams that have been successful in the past 15-20 years, that stability is really something. It’s been said many a time and I think Danny Mills has alluded to it, but hopefully that stability will hold us in good stead.

“You’ve got guys like Ben Henshall who is doing some great things in New Zealand and certain guys will hopefully grow in the off-season and be able to contribute more, we’ll get some new guys in and hopefully we’ll go well.”

The decision to re-sign Doolittle for a second season could prove to be a sliding doors moment for the Wildcats, such were the imports contributions to the side through the back half of last season.

Doolittle linked up with the Wildcats late in the piece ahead of NBL24 and initially struggled to adapt to his new team. By the end of the campaign he was a solid offensive weapon and had emerged as a smokey to be named the competition’s Best Defensive Player.

Now, he’ll have a full off-season and pre-season to prepare for a second campaign with the side, and Wagstaff says he had faith in Doolittle’s ability to impact winning from the very first training session.

“I love what ‘Doo’ brings and I saw it from day dot. Even from the first practice you could see we had a really good import,” Wagstaff said.

“He rarely makes a bad decision, he’s exceptionally versatile which is huge in this league, and he’s composed. He’s just phenomenal.

“Hopefully with a full season with us under his belt, I think we saw a lot of what Doo can do and he almost singlehandedly won us some games, but having him for a whole season will hold us in some pretty good stead because he’s a hell of a player and a hell of a guy.”