1. Southlands Boulevarde Willetton Tigers (third place, 1-0 record) - Wanneroo have a very strong argument to be first, but the Tigers hold on for now. That could change on Saturday though when the two meet in a potential Grand Final preview, which should be a cracker.

2. Wanneroo Wolves (first, 4-0) - Nikita Martin has filled Rebecca Mercer's void admirably while the rest of the team has improved and Wanneroo are on fire. Their next seven games are difficult, but if they keep playing this well they could win them all.

3. Perth Redbacks (fifth, 3-1) - Their winning streak might have been ended in a tough loss to Wanneroo, but the Redbacks have already shown huge improvement despite Rachel Watman's injury. Should thrash Mandurah on Saturday.

4. Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers (fourth, 1-0) - A decent first up effort in a win against East Perth and they should win similarly comfortably against Stirling. Just one of their first seven games is against a team likely to contend for the title (Perth in round four) so they have plenty of time to get into rhythm.

5. Toll Ipec East Perth Eagles (12th, 0-3) - It might not be time to panic, but it's at least time to be very concerned. Must beat Stirling and Kalamunda in the next fortnight as they face Perth, Willetton and Wanneroo in succession after that, all games they'd struggle in even if Sam Norwood is back.

6. Lakeside Lightning (second, 3-0) - The Lightning continue to prove the doubters wrong, continuing their unbeaten start with a big win against Kalamunda. Should beat Stirling this week before their schedule gets a little harder.

7. Total Connections Perry Lakes Hawks (sixth, 2-1) - Thrashed the struggling Eagles but a hefty loss to Perth was disappointing. Friday's game against Willetton will give a good indication of whether the Hawks can be true title contenders.

8. Rockingham Flames (11th, 0-2) - The Flames jump into the top eight, but not because of anything they did. Quite the contrary, in fact. Mandurah simply had to drop out of the eight after their embarrassing loss to Stirling. The Flames are still going to have to massively improve on their efforts so far to make the finals.

9. Mandurah Magic (ninth, 0-2) - It seems a little too generous that the Magic only drop one spot after getting belted by the Senators, but surely they can't be this bad forever. But if they're going to keep shooting 28 per cent and having 38 turnovers a game, they won't win too many games.

10. Kalamunda Eastern Suns (eighth, 0-3) - The Suns may be winless, but their opening schedule has been very tough. The week off will give them a good chance to regroup ahead of games against the Eagles and Slammers to follow.

11. Cockburn Cougars (10th, 0-2) - The Cougars are about to enter a brutal run that will make or break their season. After a winnable match against Rockingham they face Willetton, South West and Lakeside in consecutive matches. Must win at least one, possibly even two, to stay in the playoff hunt.

12. Western Stainless Stirling Senators (seventh, 1-1) - Many people, including this column, were quick to write off the Senators following the departure of Michelle Joy, but it's clear now they'll at least be competitive and could easily avoid the wooden spoon. Are extremely unlucky not to move up.

Article by Jacob Kagi
Photo by Helen Theoharakis (Hoop Shots)

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