Joondalup Wolves

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Joondalup Wolves
Joondalup Wolves logo
LeaguesNBL1 West
Founded1989
HistoryWanneroo Wolves
1989–2013
Joondalup Wolves
2014–present
ArenaHBF Arena
LocationJoondalup, Western Australia
Team colorsGreen & white
CEOAndrew Summerville
Head coachM: David Morrell
W: Vacant
Championships7
WebsiteWolfpackBasketball.com.au

Joondalup Wolves is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Wanneroo Basketball Association (WBA), the major administrative basketball organisation in the Joondalup/Wanneroo region. The Wolves play their home games at HBF Arena.

Club history[]

Background[]

In 1982, Wanneroo District Basketball Association was established.[1] In 1983, the association moved into Joondalup Basketball Stadium.[2] Being one of the fastest growing associations in Western Australia in their early years, 1985 marked the inaugural year of the Wolves' acceptance into District basketball.[3] In just their second season, both the A Grade Men and A Grade Women won State League championships.[4]

Early success in the SBL[]

1989 saw the formation of the State Basketball League (SBL) with both a men's and women's competition. Wanneroo, trading as the Wolves, entered a team into both the Men's SBL and Women's SBL. In 1990, the women's team reached their first WSBL Grand Final, where they defeated the Stirling Senators 70–67. In 1992, the women's team faced the Swan City Mustangs in the grand final, where they won their second title behind a 74–64 win. In 1993, the men's team won their first championship despite finishing the regular season in seventh place with an 11–13 record.[5] In the 1993 MSBL Grand Final, the Wolves defeated the Cockburn Cougars 109–91 behind player-coach Vince Kelley.[6] In 1995, the women's team won the club's first minor premiership with a club-best record of 22–2. They reached the WSBL Grand Final, where they defeated the Mustangs 2–0 in the best-of-three series. In 1997, the women's team reached their fourth WSBL Grand Final, where they were defeated 62–52 by the Willetton Tigers.

Halcyon era[]

Between 1998 and 2010, neither team saw much success, as the club failed to record any minor premierships or grand final appearances. In 2011, the men's team had their best-ever regular-season campaign, as they finished second with an 18–8 record[5] behind the likes of Greg Hire, Damian Matacz, Brad Robbins and coach Ben Ettridge.[7][8] In the finals, the Wolves defeated the Willetton Tigers 2–1 in the first round, before sweeping the Cockburn Cougars in the semi-finals to reach their first MSBL Grand Final since 1993.[7] There they defeated the Perry Lakes Hawks 88–83 to claim their second championship and end their 18-year drought. Hire was named Grand Final MVP for his 31 points and 28 rebounds.[9]

In 2012, both teams finished atop their respective ladders, with the women earning a 16–6 record, while the men set a team-best 23–3 record.[5] Both teams failed to reach the grand final however.

In 2013, both teams made grand final appearances.[10] In the WSBL Grand Final, the women's team defeated the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 72–47 to claim their fourth championship. In the MSBL Grand Final, the Wolves were defeated 77–74 by the Lakeside Lightning.

In 2014, Wanneroo Basketball Association changed their trading name from Wanneroo Wolves to Joondalup Wolves, but success did not follow suit as the women lost in the semi-finals, while the men failed to qualify for the finals for the first time since 2007.[11]

In 2015, the men's team claimed their second minor premiership after finishing the regular season atop the ladder with a 23–3 record. They went on to reach the MSBL Grand Final, where they won their third championship with a 105–75 win over the South West Slammers.[12][13]

In 2016, the women's team claimed their third minor premiership with a 19–3 record before going on to lose 60–58 to the Willetton Tigers in the WSBL Grand Final. The men's team meanwhile made their way through to the MSBL Grand Final, where they were defeated 96–84 by the Cockburn Cougars.

In 2017, the men's team reached their third straight MSBL Grand Final, where they lost 103–70 to the Perth Redbacks.

In 2018, the Wolves moved into HBF Arena after playing out of Joondalup Basketball Stadium for more than three decades.[14] In August 2018, after making their fourth straight MSBL Grand Final and sixth in eight years, the Wolves were entered into the conversation as one of the power teams of Western Australia's state sporting leagues.[15] The Wolves went on to lose in the grand final for the third straight year, going down 94–87 to the Perry Lakes Hawks.[16]

In 2019, the men's team claimed their third minor premiership after finishing the regular season atop the ladder with a 20–6 record. They went on to reach their fifth straight MSBL Grand Final, where they lost 92–80 to the Geraldton Buccaneers.[17]

In 2020, the women's team finished as minor premiers in the amateur-based West Coast Classic.[18] They reached the grand final, where they defeated the Perry Lakes Hawks 72–54.[19]

In 2021, the SBL was rebranded as NBL1 West.[20][21] The Wolves women reached the grand final in the inaugural NBL1 West season, where they were defeated by the Willetton Tigers 65–54.[22][23]

Notable club figures[]

In August 2015, Wanneroo Basketball Association announced the retirements of Life Members and longstanding employees Van and Mary Kailis. Having commenced work with WBA in 1986, Van and Mary Kailis were considered the forefront of basketball's growth in the Wanneroo area, building one of the most successful and professionally operated basketball associations in Western Australia. During his time with the Wolves, Van won WSBL Coach of the Year in 1990, guided the women to championships in 1986 and 1990, and worked as an assistant coach with the Wolves men.[24]

Accolades[]

The Wolves' wall-mounted championship banners at HBF Arena. The seven SBL championships are featured alongside the Wolves' 1986 "State League" premiership double.

Women

  • Championships: 4 (1990, 1992, 1995, 2013)
  • Grand Final appearances: 7 (1990, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2013, 2016, 2021)
  • Minor premierships: 3 (1995, 2012, 2016)

Men

  • Championships: 3 (1993, 2011, 2015)
  • Grand Final appearances: 8 (1993, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
  • Minor premierships: 3 (2012, 2015, 2019)


References[]

  1. ^ "CITY OF JOONDALUP – MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING OF ELECTORS – 06.03.03" (PDF). Joondalup.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  2. ^ "Briefing Notes for the Relocation of the Wanneroo Basketball Association's Operations" (PDF). Joondalup.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  3. ^ Peters District Fixtures 1985. Western Australian Basketball Federation (Incorporated). 1985. p. 9.
  4. ^ "Past Players Day | Celebrating Wolves Heritage". WolfpackBasketball.com.au. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  5. ^ a b c "2015 SBL Media Guide". SportsTG.com. p. 25. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  6. ^ Donaldson, Mark (27 July 2017). "SBL: ode to suburban stadiums as Joondalup Wolves farewell Joondalup Basketball Stadium". Joondalup Times. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  7. ^ a b Kagi, Jacob (25 August 2011). "Men's SBL grand final preview - Wanneroo v Perry Lakes". PerthNow.com.au. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  8. ^ Hope, Shayne (26 August 2011). "SBL grand final set for sell-out". TheWest.com.au. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  9. ^ "Wanneroo take out SBL title". TheWest.com.au. 28 August 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  10. ^ Donaldson, Mark (27 August 2013). "Wolves hungry for finals feed". CommunityNews.com.au. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  11. ^ Pike, Chris (31 July 2014). "A look at the men's SBL teams not in playoffs". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
  12. ^ Pike, Chris (30 August 2015). "Wolves too good for Slammers to win third men's SBL championship". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  13. ^ Pike, Chris (3 September 2015). "Wolves' depth the key to dominant 2015 championship win". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  14. ^ Donaldson, Mark (27 July 2017). "SBL: ode to suburban stadiums as Joondalup Wolves farewell Joondalup Basketball Stadium". Joondalup Times. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  15. ^ Donaldson, Mark (30 August 2018). "SBL: Joondalup Wolves success akin to WAFL club Subiaco". Joondalup Times. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  16. ^ Donaldson, Mark (1 September 2018). "SBL grand final: Perry Lakes Hawks upset Joondalup Wolves". Western Suburbs Weekly. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  17. ^ "GRAND FINAL SPOTLIGHT | BUCCS END TITLE DROUGHT IN STYLE". SBL.asn.au. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  18. ^ "SEMI-FINAL WOMEN'S WEST COAST CLASSIC PREVIEW". SBL.asn.au. 25 September 2020. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020.
  19. ^ "POWERFUL LADY WOLFPACK CLAIM WEST COAST CLASSIC TITLE". SBL.asn.au. 26 September 2020. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020.
  20. ^ "NBL1 West to tip off in 2021". NBL1.com.au. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  21. ^ Garlepp, Josh (30 October 2020). "State Basketball League to become NBL 1 West as WA clubs agree to unite under national second-tier banner". TheWest.com.au. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  22. ^ "Women's Grand Final Preview: Willetton Tigers v Joondalup Wolves". NBL1.com.au. 1 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  23. ^ "Tigers overpower Wolves in Grand Final to savour". NBL1.com.au. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  24. ^ "End of an Era for the Wolfpack Family". SportsTG.com. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.

External links[]

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