IN this series each week, we take a look at the strongest performing players at each position to create the league’s Team of the Week.

Round 3 of the 2021/22 National Basketball League (NBL) saw some more exciting action and terrific individual performances from around the competition. There were familiar faces back at it, leading their respective sides as the competition begins to heat up, and the contenders begin to distance themselves from some of their peers. Kicking things off this week is a former MVP who appears back to his best as he looks to amend last year’s grand final loss.

Point Guard – Bryce Cotton (Perth Wildcats)

It was hard to go past the reigning NBl Most Valuable Player, who is the gift that keeps on giving for the Wildcats. After a quieter start to the season, Cotton has well and truly found his mojo once again, and that was on full display in Perth’s round 3 matches. In Friday night’s clash against the Brisbane Bullets, Cotton was far-and-away the best player on the court, registering 29 points in his side’s 13-point victory. He was able to then back this up on Sunday night with a 23-point outing, leading his side to a 2-0 record for the round.

Shooting Guard – Chris Goulding (Melbourne United)

The Melbourne United veteran was back to his best this weekend after missing the opening matches of the round with a hamstring injury. It is well-known around the competition that when he is on, Goulding is one of the deadliest shooters in the country, and this was in display for all to see, particularly in United’s second match of the round against the New Zealand Breakers. In the 23-point win, Goulding poured in 21 points, all of which came from his seven buckets from behind the three-point line. If he continues this red-hot form, it will go a long way in United’s quest for consecutive titles.

Small Forward – Mitch Creek (South East Melbourne Phoenix)

This man just keeps getting it done, and in turn, keeps popping up in our selected team of the week. Creek’s MVP campaign has continued into a third straight week, with the Phoenix star consistently putting up big numbers, and was one of the most valuable contributors to his side despite the loss. Creek poured in 22 points and was one of the reasons his side was still in the match for a large part of the contest. He is as reliable as they come in terms of scoring and is enjoying a career-best season.

Power Forward – Robert Franks (Brisbane Bullets)

Franks has continued to impress in his short tenure with the Bullets, and has been the side’s best and most consistent performer this season. He has shown that he will likely be one of the stars of the league and his offensive arsenal is as strong as anyone else in the league. He opened his round 3 account with 28 points and nine rebounds, before following this up a couple of days later with 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists, a steal and two blocks in what proved an impressive weekend for the big man.

Center – Zhou Qi (South East Melbourne Phoenix)

The big man was once again a serious presence on both ends of the court, despite his team underperforming this weekend. Zhou has been one of the strongest candidates for defensive player of the year, and his performance against the Sydney Kings did this no harm. He finished with 17 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. If he can manage to get in less foul trouble, he will prove a serious problem for opposition players when driving to the hoop.

Bench:

The backup point guard spot goes to Melbourne United’s Caleb Agada, who was terrific in his side’s two games this weekend. With outings of 21 and 20 points, Agada has announced himself as one of a number of scoring avenues for the reigning champions. He has shown capable from both inside the paint and behind the three-point line, and makes United even more dangerous as they look to turn their season around.

For the second week in a row, the backup shooting guard spot goes to Dusty Hannahs of the Adelaide 36ers. Despite playing just the one game for the weekend, Hannahs was still as eye-catching as anyone, pouring in another 20 points against the Taipans, making eight of his 11 field goal attempts. He was arguably the only positive in the loss and will likely prove match-winning for the 36ers moving forward.

In the first forward bench spot is Majok Deng of the Cairns Taipans, who enjoyed a terrific performance in his side’s win over the Adelaide 36ers. There were a number of strong contributors for the Taipans, and Deng led all scorers with 23 points for the match. He displayed his talent as a threat from deep, sinking five of his seven three-point attempts as Cairns look to bounce back from a slow start to the season.

The next forward off the bench is Victor Law of the Perth Wildcats. Law had a quiet start to the round, with just nine points in his side’s win over the Bullets on Friday night. However, he bounced back in a big way against the JackJumpers, pouring in 32 points and 13 rebounds as he drove his side to top spot on the ladder to close out the round, and prove once again that Perth look likely for a finals spot once again.

The final bench spot goes to New Zealand Breakers big man Yannick Wetzell, who produced a near match-winning performance in round 3. Against the Illawarra Hawks, Wetzell was outstanding as they pushed their then-undefeated opponents into overtime. The center finished with 25 points and a whopping 17 rebounds as he proved more than a handful for the Hawks defenders. In the Breakers search for consistent wins, performances like this will prove invaluable.