ROUND 16 of the NBL will kick off two consecutive rounds where every team plays two games. For the Perth Wildcats, winners of four of their last five games, that brings two away matchups against Tasmania on Sunday and Brisbane on Wednesday. It will spell the end of a run of seven straight away games for the third placed side, before they begin a four-game home stand. 

Sydney’s comeback fell short last night against Melbourne United and as a result the Wildcats moved ahead of them into third place, with two games in hand behind second placed Melbourne. Perth’s two opponents are placed sixth and seventh on the table, giving them a significant opportunity to cement their place in the top three and move closer to second place. Currently they sit two games behind the Illawarra Hawks in top spot.

Perth’s Sunday opponents, the JackJumpers, won all five of their games in December and eight on the trot before dropping their opening two games of the new year against South East Melbourne and Illawarra. Tasmania were ninth as recently as Round Nine, before climbing to third at the end of Round 14 on the back of their impressive winning streak. 

Unfortunately for the reigning champions, Sean Macdonald was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a foot injury suffered in their last game against the Hawks. Tasmania stated that he will be replaced in the squad by Nick Stoddart. Macdonald scored 19 points in that last game to lead all comers.

They did however also announce that Will Magnay was showing good signs of healing and will progress his loading before further review. Outside of the two aforementioned players, Tasmania is at full strength and will be hoping for a return to form from star Milton Doyle after he scored just one point and missed all nine of his shots from the field on Tuesday. He has made just 3 of his last 21 shots.

Tasmania and Perth have split the points in their two games this year, Tasmania getting an overtime win early in the year before going down by six points to Perth in early November.

The Wildcats will be boosted by the return of Kristian Doolittle, who has missed the last five outings with a groin issue. This will be a significant return for Perth who have posted 18 points and 12 rebounds in their last matchup with the JackJumpers. Tai Webster remains on the sidelines with a hamstring strain.

Perth then travel to Brisbane to battle the Bullets who have lost three of their last four games. Despite some roster discontinuity, Brisbane have settled on a lineup led by Casey Prather amidst an MVP calibre campaign that has him averaging 21 points and six rebounds per game. They won their last matchup on the back of their taller lineup that includes young gun Josh Bannan, Tyrell Harrison and the returning Deng Adel, who played his first games since Round 9. 

Brisbane recently added new signing Josh Adams, formerly of the Tasmania JackJumpers, to their rotation who was immediately inserted into the starting lineup and played 17 minutes against the Sydney Kings. He scored 11 points in the five point loss to begin his NBL25 campaign. 

The return of Doolittle could not come at a better time for Perth, who will require his defensive impact to attempt to prevent Prather’s scoring prowess. The combination of Keanu Pinder and next-star Izan Almansa will be vital defensively as Harrison, Bannan and Prather have all averaged double-doubles over the last two games.

Harrison will miss the Bullets first game of the round against the Phoenix with delayed concussion symptoms, but is expected to return for the Wildcats clash. 

Keandre Cook and Next-Star Rocco Zikarsky will both return this round for Brisbane, after Cook missed the New Zealand match. Zikarsky has missed the side’s last four matches.

Bryce Cotton looks to continue his ridiculous season that has him scoring 28 points per game (if you discard his injured 2-minute game) and coming off yet another 40-point performance in Perth’s last game against New Zealand. 

Two wins in Round 16 for the Wildcats could see them tied for second place as their continue to climb up the ladder depending on the result of Melbourne’s clash with New Zealand on Monday and head coach John Rillie’s side will be eager to stake their claim for that title.