BE ACTIVE PERTH WHEELCATS

Last Year: 13 wins, 5 losses, Runners-Up

Roster: Sarah Vinci, Natalie Alexander, Michael Hartnett, Amber Merritt, Shaun Norris, Thomas McHugh, Kim Robins, Andrew Liddawadi.

Fixture:
Through the Cluster Round, the Wheelcats only play three games although the final game of the weekend is a Grand Final replay as they come up against the Cobras. A major downside of their fixture is that they do not head to the Bendat Basketball Centre for the first time until Round 3.

Overview:
The return of Shaun Norris automatically positions the Wheelcats as a threat in 2017, coming off a season in which he averaged a triple-double to earn the Mid-Point MVP while also owning the scoring title with 31.3 points per game. An issue did occur in the 2016 Grand Final though when Norris was unable to fire at the offensive end and his side could not back him up. It will be interesting to see how Perth can help him this year as on paper, they certainly have the capabilities through the likes of Kim Robins, Amber Merritt and the rising star in Thomas McHugh who could be headed to the Under-23 Spinners World Championships later this year. However, if they become too one-dimensional they may struggle to keep up with the top teams of the league.

One To Watch: 
Kim Robins. The fifth leading scorer from last season, Robins averaged 18.7 points per contest while hitting 55% from the field. He is also a solid contributor on the glass, pulling down a total of 28 offensive rebounds last year and in tandem with Norris, they make for one of the strongest scoring duo’s in the competition.

Prediction:
Top Two.