Hoops

Should Jawai travel to NZ?

Yes I said Larry Sengstock medallist and I mean it, I sure would put him ahead of Prather and Beal at this stage and most of the Breakers.

His 5 fouls will come in handy and at worst he will be trusted by Trev more than a DP replacement

That's the ultimate problem isn't it. If he's gonna make the flights, even for moral support) the damage is done and he might as well play.

Not trying to just make excuses here, but it could be the case that his back condition prevents him from doing the work required to get to the level of fitness that he really needs to be at?

I'd say the decision needs to come down to how bad his back actually is, and how he pulled up after Game 1..

So did NZ fly back straight after last night's game, but Perth only flew to NZ today?

Interesting..which one is a better approach?

Agree regarding the comments on Jawai. You don't really have a leg to stand on claiming a back injury if and when that back injury is caused by being overweight - that's kind of like me staying up till 4am every morning and then complaining that i'm too tired to work. If you're own laziness/lack of discipline is causing the issue, it's not a simple case of 'bad luck'. There's a correlation there.

To be fair, even if he didn't have the professional Cats support staff it shouldn't give him a right to "let go" on his weight management and discipline. If ordinary people can achieve workplace success and get themselves into a shape/condition to perform their work property, what's stopping Jawai? I don't have a psychologist, nutritionist etc. but i'm still in shape and fit.

There is also a pic without Jawai in it.

Who knows. Maybe the "Qantas lounge" pic wasn't really the Qantas lounge. Maybe it's a photoshop.

We won't know what Jawai's status is until game day!

haha

If he can give us 15 minutes then that is still 15 minutes less fatigue for the rest of our bigs if the series goes to game 3, and it's still another 5 fouls that we have to help deal with Pledger & Jackson, so I'll take that.

By manageable I just mean that if it's the type of injury that could possibly rule him right out of game 3 if he travels, then and only then would I consider leaving him in Perth. It appears not to be that type of injury though. I'm assuming he's a competitive guy who still likes to win even if he also likes to eat, so surely he would want to play a role in a title win if it were up to him.
As much as he got panned for his SF series I actually thought he was more than useful in game 3, and of course played well last night, so keep going with it I say.

I thought it was common knowledge that each Perth Wildcat player has their own private jet. The flight to NZ shouldn't be a problem.

Back injuries can be a real bitch. But if it's something manageable, as it appears to be, then yes I think Nate needs to play if the medicos clear him.

I'm assuming Perth players will be flying first class so they should be able to get adequate rest on the flight.

They have to take him, it's doing him an injustice as they are giving him less chance to be Larry Sengstock medallist.

Even a useless sore Jawai is good for 5 tough fouls and if it makes Webster take a tougher shot than drive to the lane then 8 minutes out of Jawai can still be vital.

Jervis and Hire can play extended minutes and Redhage should lift his production as well