Hoops

Perth Bench = Change Is Gonna Come?

Did we witness the future today?

Steindl, rightly or wrongly, I feel has cemented his spot with that incredible display. And it snot like they were all wide-open looks, a couple were off-balance and under pressure.
Vague continues to improve
Dech looked good in his first game for years

Hire got limited minutes and did nothing

When Damo returns, will we see a "season ending" injury to Hire to allow them to retain Dech?

Or will they pull the pin on a 3rd import?
I think it will depend on how the season progresses once they get into more road trips.

Perth obviously leading the league for now so won't be keen to make any changes.
But I think this season will be Hire's last.

J you seem to be forgetting the garbage you post. I would too.

Hey moderator who is this other J?? Surely you can't have the same username?

Vague over Wagstaff? C’mon now, Vague isn’t even close to being the player Wgstaff is/was.

I'm not sure about being thin in the backcourt, you've got two starter-level PGs in Martin and Norton and then a handy guy named Cotton who can slide there if needed (plus a spare import spot in case of injury). White can also slide to SG so I think they have the perimeter covered.

I just can't trust Wagstaff, I understand why he gets played but there are times he's on the court and you can't wait until Trev takes him back off again, I wouldn't hate the thought of Vague earning more of his court time (if Jesse isn't playing well early on) and really trying to fast track Vague more.

I do love that we have 5 bigs, just like Melbourne and Cairns as I think it gives far more freedom with foul trouble and this league feels like the bigs get more 50/50 calls for fouls than guards do so alleviating that with Vague to play minutes rather than having say Steindl playing the 4 works for me.

I'm still a massive Steindl fan and I loved that he dove on the court today and showed some hustle and desperation as he is so laconic, I can't say I understand why Hire gets on the court ahead of Steindl except for last second defensive assignments but I think it may be due to how Hire pushes the envelope with off the ball incidents and that Trev likes to have a player that always seems to lock arms with their opponent even off the ball. Clint will come good but you have to admit that Terrico isn't making it easy to sub him out so of course that will affect the flow of Steindl and Hire.

Norton is an absolute ripper and the more he stays aggressive and gets to the basket, the better the team looks... he gives us everything that Kenny seemed to lack and he's still got improvement left in him.

Brandt was massive vs United but I'd still bring him off the bench and allow Jervis to potentially pick up those silly fouls that the refs like to call in the first 3 minutes of the game where they like to stamp their authority on the game + Jervis has been magnificent for the Wildcats this season despite a few butter finger moments.

I feel like the bench is good enough, the backcourt has always felt lacking but White should play more 2 so not an issue yet

If Damo goes down for more than a week or two they won't be looking to Cummings, they'll be signing an import.

One thing I'm loving this season is that we're back to batting really deep. Our first 8 would be right up there as one of the best in the comp.

I'm liking the look of Vague. Still raw, and made a mess today, but shows potential.

Problem is that once again we're really thin in the backcourt.
Damo will get injured, and TBH we're absolutely spoilt to have Norton as backup. But then we basically have to look to Cummings to man the bench.

I will admit to being seriously pissed at both Steindl and Hire.
Hire was saved by his community award, and he said that nearly getting the arse was going to motivate him. But its more of the same. He's been on a steady decline and the trajectory hasn't changed. His defense and rebounding is slowing down, and he's an offensive liability.
Agree with the comment above that one of these guys needs to make way for an import 2 or 3.

On the plus side, at least we're not spending every game in mortal fear of Matty getting whacked in the head again.

Both Perth and Melbourne used their starters heavily (especially if you include Goulding as a non-starting starter).

This over-reliance might work in individual games, but will it take its toll later in the season?

Norton/Wagstaff/Jervis are all quality players, gives the Cats a great 8 man rotation to centre around.

Vague/Steindl have been pretty unreliable so far, and Hire you know what you get with him.

I think the bench lead by Norton/Wagstaff/Jervis is solid enough for now, but wouldn't be surprised if they eventually cut Hire or Steindl for an import SG/SF who can be a go to guy off the bench.

Trev rides his starters. Bench came in and ran some sets which the team needed. They are deep, reality is 40 min game a short rotation is enough. Our bench can get hot, no change needed