Wolves in search of dynasty
Wanneroo Wolves men’s coach Ben Ettridge says he wants to put his side into a position where they can break their title drought and build a prolonged dynasty.
The Wolves haven’t reached the Grand Final since they won the title in 1993, but have started this season well with three wins from their first five games.
Ettridge told SportFM 91.3’s SBL Radio he was desperate to break the club's drought.
“We want to build something that is sustainable for 10 or 15 years and not go through another drought this long without making it to a championship game,” he said.
“The club has a long tradition so I’m not trying to change a lot of the culture. I’m just trying to enhance a lot of what is already there.
“We’re trying to get our more experienced guys to pass their knowledge onto our younger players so when they leave the club, we don’t have to go through a rebuilding process.”
Ettridge, in his first year as coach of Wanneroo, said the Wolves would be without guard Rhys Smyth for their trip to the Midwest to face Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers, while import John Vaudriel (awaiting immigration clearance) was also unlikely to play.
He said he was expecting Geraldton to provide a strong challenge despite their 1-3 record.
“They’re now on a one-game winning streak, their imports are quality and Ray Evans is a coach who has been successful with that group of guys,” Ettridge said.
Meanwhile, new Kalamunda Eastern Suns import Leah Rush said her first impressions of the women’s SBL were positive.
Rush suited up for the Suns for the first time in their 79-70 home victory over Perth Redbacks in round three and said she was pleased with the standard of her own team and the league.
“There’s some good shooters around which I’ve seen and it looks like there’s some quality talent across the board here, so it’ll be good to dive in to the rest of the season and see what it looks like,” she told SBL Radio.
“It was encouraging that we were able to play well after just one game together, but there are some things I’ll be looking to improve on to help me play better and also the team play better.”
Rush, a 26-year-old, 186cm forward, has experience in America’s Women’s National Basketball Association, the Townsville Fire in the Women’s National Basketball League and in major European leagues.
“I played in Australia in 2009, I came for the QBL and I enjoyed it so much I decided I had to stay for the WNBL,” she said.
“I love Australia and I just felt I had to get back here.”
For all the latest news and feature interviews, tune into SportFM 91.3 each Tuesday from 7pm for SBL Radio, featuring West Coast Waves coach Dave Herbert and Perth Wildcats assistant coach Shawn Dennis. You can also listen online, or catch the podcast at anytime by visiting sportfm.com.au.
Article by Jacob Kagi
Photo by Grant Lauterbach
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