YOUNG gun Ethan Elliott has been one of the biggest positives of the 2025 season for the Joondalup Wolves, and played a key role as his side claimed a nine-point win over the Eastern Suns in the NBL1 West Men’s over the weekend.

It was the sole clash of Round 9 for both teams, with the two teams enjoying contrasting seasons over the first couple of months. The Wolves are squarely in the championship window, sitting in the top four in the standings with an impressive record of seven wins and four losses coming in. On the other hand, the Suns have been struggling over the first few weeks, and with a negative record, sit outside the finals picture as it stands.

It was the perfect start from the Suns on their home court at Ray Owen Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon, jumping out to a six-point buffer at the first change and stretching that out to seven at the conclusion of the first half. However, a 27-10 third quarter from the Wolves blew the game wide open, and flipped the script as it was Eastern that trailed in the final term. Although the home side tried to chip away at the margin, time won out as Joondalup left the venue with the chocolates.

In a strong team performance, Elliott stood out once again, continuing a strong campaign in the NBL1 West and showing why he is considered one of the brightest young prospects in the competition.

Eastern Suns (68) def. by Joondalup Wolves (77)

Ethan Elliott – 17 points, four rebounds, five assists, four steals

Fully entrusted as a key member of the starting lineup, Elliott has become a reliable performer for the Wolves, averaging 12.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game on 40.9 per cent shooting from the field, and was impressive again on Sunday.

He scored Joondalup’s first basket of the match with a nice driving layup to get the Wolves on the board for the match in a promising start. Elliott’s first steal of the game also led to a CJ Turnage basket in transition, while the young gun found his captain cutting to the basket to get involved on Joondalup’s offensive production despite a slow start from a team perspective.

With the Suns threatening to break away on the scoreboard, Elliott produced a timely three-pointer to cut the margin back to four points early in the fourth frame. Although he struggled to find the bottom of the net for the next five minutes of the quarter, he got back on the board with a nice pull up jumper on the eve of half time to keep his team within striking distance.

Elliott cashed in for his second and third three-pointers in the third quarter to drag his side to the lead despite trailing the entire first half. He also became quite the disruptor on the defensive end, recording multiple steals over the span of a few minutes as the Suns began to come apart, allowing the Wolves to storm to a commanding lead.

The youngster played a crucial role in the fourth quarter, driving inside to draw plenty of contact and take some sting out of Eastern’s attempted comeback. After the Suns drew within five points, the guard nailed back to back layups to arrest some of the momentum and ensure the Wolves stayed in a winning position, with the visitors holding on for an impressive road triumph.

Elliott finished the contest with 17 points, four rebounds and five assists on 7/16 shooting from the field and 3/7 shooting from long range in yet another performance that will fill the Wolves with plenty of confidence.