Wildcats Bloodline | Brad Robbins

Brad Robbins' name is woven into the rich history of the Perth Wildcats. Hailing from Dandenong in Victoria, Robbins joined Perth at just 21 years old and went on to play 177 games for the club between 2006 and 2012, and played a pivotal role in the club’s 2010 NBL Championship.

Sitting 17th on the club's all-time games list, Robbins, along with his teammates, understood the honour that came with donning the red.

"We were an incredibly tight group," Robbins said. 

"Trainings were super competitive, and we had multiple guys who were willing to hold the guy next to them accountable. There was a real pride in wearing the red jersey."

That group wasn't just passing through. What Robbins and his teammates built during those years laid the foundation, culture and framework for the Championship success that would follow later in the decade.

"It wasn't just a stop off either, most of our group were there long term," he said. 

"We genuinely wanted to play for the club, contribute to what had already been built, and hopefully leave it a little better for the next group that came through."

Robbins' hard-nosed attack on the ball and complete disregard for his own body in the pursuit of winning every possession proved crucial to the 2010 Championship run against Wollongong, and later saw him named co-captain alongside fellow Bloodline member Shawn Redhage.

That attitude earned him the respect and support of both the club's community and the teammates who fought alongside him. When Robbins made the decision to step away from the game in 2012, it was understandably an emotional one, but having his peers around him for the occasion is something he will never forget.

"When I retired, my last game was in Adelaide. We came from behind and won, so on paper it was the perfect way to finish," Robbins said. "What I remember most was the locker room afterwards. It was almost dead silent and there was a real sense of sadness amongst the group, knowing my chapter had come to an end."

"Although it was an incredibly hard moment for me, I don't think I'd ever felt more supported by a group of teammates. It gave me a real sense of the mateship that sport can create and how much those relationships meant beyond basketball."

Robbins arrived in Perth as a fresh-faced 21-year-old during what is often remembered as a drought for the club. Despite being in a period of transition, the Wildcats continued to make the finals, even as legends of the golden era began to retire, ensuring the club’s standard of success never wavered.

"Playing for Perth back then came with incredible pressure to win. Success was expected, and you learned pretty quickly how to deal with the highs and lows that came with that," he said. "My time in Perth taught me to truly be where your feet are. You're never as bad as you think you are, and you're never as good as you think you are either. There's always a bigger wolf."

Robbins still carries that philosophy with him today, having swapped a career in basketball for coaching and his work as Education Manager for A Stitch in Time (ASIT).

"I've been involved with ASIT alongside my brother-in-law, Greg Hire, since its early days around 10 or 11 years ago," he said. "It's a mental health organisation focused heavily on education, particularly working with young people in schools and communities across WA."

For Robbins, the non-profit is far more than just a job. Having faced his own struggles with mental health, particularly during his playing days, he understands the work is bigger than himself.

"ASIT is incredibly personal to me. I've been pretty open about some of my own challenges over the years, and the organisation has given me a platform to use those experiences in a positive way," he said. "Being able to share parts of my journey, have honest conversations around mental health and hopefully give young people some practical tools that might help them has become a really important part of my life after basketball."

It's clear that Robbins' life after playing has centred on teaching, passing on lessons and guiding the next generation. That's evident not only through his work with ASIT but also through his coaching career across the WNBL, NBL1 and national representative programs - a path he had no intention of pursuing until Perth Lynx head coach Ryan Petrik offered him the chance to join the program.

"The Lynx program really opened my eyes to the world of coaching, and I haven't looked back," he said. "Since then, I've been Head Coach of the Warwick Senators Women's NBL1 program, working alongside lifelong friend Paul Rogers, and was recently appointed Assistant Coach of the Under 19 Australian Emus. Warwick won the 2026 NBL1 West Championship, which was then followed by a gold medal at the recent Asia Cup in India with the Emus."

For all the success Robbins has found in coaching, and the athletes he has impacted along the way, the value it has given him personally was something he never saw coming.

"I was very bitter at the game for some time after I finished playing," he said. "Coaching has probably given basketball back to me in a way I didn't expect. It's allowed me to reconnect with the game from a completely different perspective, pass on some of what I learned along the way, and hopefully have a positive impact on the players I get to work with. I think I appreciate the game now more than I ever have."

Brad will never forget the feeling of being a Perth Wildcat, and when asked what being part of the Bloodline means to him, it's clear the answer is an accumulation of every individual's impact, through every chapter and every moment.

"Being part of the Bloodline is about understanding that you're a small part of something much bigger than your own time at the club," he said.

"The Wildcats have such a rich history, and I think it's really important to acknowledge where the club has come from and all the people who have contributed to getting it where it is today. Every era has had different players, coaches, staff and people behind the scenes who have added something to the club and helped shape what it has become."

It’s a recognition of and respect for the path paved by those who came before, paired with an understanding that each generation has a responsibility to carry it forward.

"There was an enormous amount of pride in wearing the red jersey," Robbins said. 

"We understood that people had come before us and set standards that we had a responsibility to uphold, and hopefully we were able to add something of our own for the people who came after us."

"That's probably what the Bloodline means to me. Regardless of when you played or what role you had, if you contributed to the club, you're part of its story."

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