Perth Wildcats (1st, 17-11) versus Wollongong Hawks (2nd, 16-12)
Game One - Friday 5 March Challenge Stadium, Perth - 7:00PM
Game Two - Tuesday 9 March WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong - 7:30PM
Game Three (if required) - Friday 12 March Challenge Stadium, Perth - 7:00PM
The Perth Wildcats host the Wollongong Hawks at Challenge Stadium (AKA ‘The Jungle’) for Game One of the best-of-three NBL Grand Final series on Friday. In their four meetings during the regular season, each team won two games. The Hawks went 2-0 against the Wildcats in Wollongong, while the ‘Cats were 2-0 against the Hawks in Perth. Their full season series results are listed below:
25/09/2009 HAWKS 94 defeated WILDCATS 92 at WOLLONGONG
31/10/2009 WILDCATS 87 defeated HAWKS 80 at PERTH
12/12/2009 HAWKS 109 defeated WILDCATS 84 at WOLLONGONG
2/01/2010 WILDCATS 91 defeated HAWKS 57 at PERTH
In their four meetings so far this season, Cameron Tragardh has been the leading scorer for the Hawks with an average of 16.0 points along with 7.3 rebounds. The Hawks have showcased their balanced line-up however with three other players (Larry Davidson 12.0 points, Mat Campbell 11.0 and Glen Saville 10.8) all averaging double-figure scoring against Perth. Injured import Tywain McKee also averaged 20.3 points in the first three meetings between the teams before a back injury ended his season. Perth have had three players average in double-figures against Wollongong this season – Shawn Redhage 14.3, Luke Schenscher 12.8 and Kevin Lisch 12.5.
Whilst the Perth Wildcats took the minor premiership this season, only 14 times in NBL history out of the 31 title series already played has the team that finished on top of the ladder actually gone on to take the title. On 15 previous occasions the first ranked team has gone on to face the second-placed team in the Grand Final. Of those series, the first ranked team has won nine and the second-ranked side six.
Despite the fact that Wollongong and Perth are two of the oldest teams in the competition, they have never faced each other in a Grand Final series before. Perth have advanced to the Grand Final on seven previous occasions, having won the title in 1990 (against Brisbane), 1991 (vs. Eastside Spectres), 1995 (vs. North Melbourne Giants) and 2000 (vs. Victoria Titans) and been runners-up on two other occasions (in 1993 against Melbourne and 2003 versus Sydney).
Wollongong have twice before made the Grand Final, winning the first title ever by a team from New South Wales in 2001 when they downed Townsville (they team they defeated this year in the Semi Finals) and finishing runners-up behind the Sydney Kings in 2005.
The Wildcats have however played Wollongong eight times in the post-season and hold a commanding 6-2 advantage. Their most recent meeting in the post-season was on 10 February 2006, when the Wildcats scored a 121-101 upset victory in the Quarter Finals at ‘The Sandpit’ in Wollongong. Glen Saville and Mat Campbell from the Hawks are the only two current Wollongong players to have been part of that loss, while Shawn Redhage and injured veteran Paul Rogers are the only two remaining Wildcats from the 2006 side. Wollongong has lost their last three consecutive post-season clashes with Perth.
Saville and Wildcats veteran Martin Cattalini will be the players with the most Grand Final experience in this season, with each having played 11 title games. Only two other players in this year’s series have played in a Grand Final before – Wollongong’s Luke Martin (8 games) and Mat Campbell (6). Perth veteran Rogers has played in two Grand Final games but won’t play in the series due to injury. That gives Wollongong a significant advantage in terms of Grand Final experience, especially when you consider that Hawks’ coach Gordie McLeod has coached in eight NBL Grand Final games previously (with West Sydney, going 3-5) while this will be Rob Beveridge’s first foray into the title round.
All-time, the Wildcats and Hawks have met on 76 occasions previously. Of those 76 meetings, Perth were victorious in 48 games while Wollongong won 28. In games played in Perth, The Wildcats have won on 32 of 38 occasions against Wollongong. That record includes a live streak of seven straight victories over Wollongong at Challenge Stadium. The last time Wollongong came away from Challenge Stadium with a win was way back on 5 November 2005, when the Hawks recorded a 27-point win (their biggest ever in Perth). The Wildcats’ largest ever margin of victory in Perth over Wollongong was the 37-point margin of victory they racked up on 10 September 1993.
Perth veteran Martin Cattalini will be playing his 450th NBL match in Game One. He will become the 23rd player in NBL history to reach that milestone. Cattalini has scored 6,494 points in his career, as well as adding 2,406 rebounds and 683 assists. He made his first appearance on court back in 1993 on 16 April as part of a Perth team that downed the Gold Coast Rollers. Despite playing only 48 seconds, he still had four points on debut. The man known as ‘Cat’ scored a career-high 51 points on 22 November 2006 as a member of the Cairns Taipans in a match against the Brisbane Bullets.
