Skipper Stoked with Successful Season-Opener

Following Sunday’s season-opener win over the Brisbane Bullets, Perth Wildcats captain Jesse Wagstaff said it felt good to get back on court.

“It was physical, it was a good hit out, it was good to get back on court,” he said.

 “Obviously a little rusty to start off with, we steadied the ship early on and BC (Bryce Cotton) did BC things and I think it was a pretty good team effort in the end.”

Wagstaff praises Bryce Cotton’s defensive skills, after recording 12 rebound and 6 steals on Sunday.

“He is immensely underrated on the defensive end,” he said

“What he creates and his speed and his smarts on the defensive end, everyone sees the flashy plays on the offensive end but defensively he’s a very good player as well.”

Following a hamstring injury in the pre-season, Wagstaff said he’s feeling good after the first game.

“Yeah pulled up pretty good, I’m never going to be playing 35 minutes, I’m coming in and playing a role like I always have,” he said.

“Hopefully it can hold up, it felt good, it feels good now, just another year older, so we have to be a bit more careful with the old soft tissue injuries.”

Wagstaff says Illawarra Hawks will be looking to bounce back on Saturday, after falling to the Sydney Kings in their first game.

“They put up a pretty good fight against Sydney at home and they will be looking to get one back,” he said.

“Tyler Harvey is all class, he’s a phenomenal player and can take over a game without notice, Sam Froling obviously has had a great international career in the off-season, played really well so he’s going to be brimming with confidence.

“It’s all about us today, we’ll be back on the practice court Thursday, we’ll look at the film and get a game plan for them.”

Perth Wildcats take on Illawarra Hawks at RAC Arena on Saturday night, tip-off at 5pm WST.

Tickets available here!