Eagles Rd 12 Preview | Friday, Saturday double

Image credit: Mark Filpo (@codexdesignstudio)

The East Perth Eagles begin their pair of double-header weekends in Round 12 of the NBL1 West season at home to the Perth Redbacks on Friday night before backing up on Saturday away to the Cockburn Cougars.

Rounds 12 and 13 of the 2025 season see the Eagles play in four fixtures across eight days which could end up being pivotal to the fortunes of both the women's and men's teams.

First up this week is on Friday night at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre with the Eagles hosting the Redbacks with the women's clash beginning at 6:30pm followed by the men's match up at 8:30pm.

Then on Saturday, East Perth heads to Wally Hagan Stadium to play the Cougars with tip-off for the women at 5:30pm and the men to follow at 7:30pm.

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WOMEN

The chance presents for the Eagles women to return to the NBL1 West's top four this weekend with a double against top four teams the Redbacks and Cougars.

East Perth might have lost their past two games but there was also plenty to like in the performances in what were also the first two games of the season for superstar Emma Clarke with her overcoming a knee injury.

The Eagles fought hard the week before against a high-scoring Warwick Senators before then remaining on the road last Saturday and losing an overtime thriller to the Willetton Tigers.

That has East Perth now in fifth position in the standings with a 7-4 record coming into this block of a pair of double headers that could be crucial in determining how the season pans out.

First up is hosting the Redbacks on Peter Campbell Basketball Arena on Friday night with the Eagles looking to make amends for their loss to Perth three weeks ago at Belmont Oasis despite being well on top over the first three quarters.

The next challenge will then be trying to hand the Cougars their first defeat of the 2025 season with Eagles coach Tim Symons looking forward to taking it to Cockburn but first all his focus is on trying to plot the downfall of a Redbacks team minus MVP fancy Anneli Maley.

"Yes, Maley is out but they are a well rounded team with a deep bench. You see people step up like last time we played when Rhebok came out and had 32, and had a stellar game which we didn’t have an answer for," Symons said.

"We've got to get better at making sure we close those opportunities out so we don't get smoked. If we can execute the four quarters and go through the bench where we know our rotations, I'm quietly confident we'll be good enough.

"Then on Saturday, it's a different ball game and we down there with nothing to lose in that one. Cockburn have got to defend their win ratio and I think we marry up with them pretty well.

"The key is getting them into our style of play versus letting them get things on their term. Lakeside did that with them in the first half last week so that's a bit of a blueprint for us. I'm not looking to contest their style of game, I'll let them play theirs and we are going to play ours."

MEN

If the Eagles men want to play finals in 2025 then this first weekend of the pair of double headers is crucial against two teams below them in the standings, but at they same time they are going to need to play well to come away with two important wins.

East Perth scored a terrific win two weeks ago against a Warwick Senators team who were in top spot at the time before then playing out a thriller away to the Willetton Tigers last Saturday night before ending up losing by a solitary point.

That leaves the Eagles now just on the outside of the top eight with a 5-7 record but it's a tight battle with the Goldfields Giants (7-6), Mandurah Magic (7-7), Kalamunda Eastern Suns (6-7) and Perry Lakes Hawks (6-7) just ahead of them.

That's where this weekend's double becomes extra important for East Perth as they can't afford to lose to teams beneath them if they want to chase down those teams currently inside the top eight.

The Eagles will need to do it without star guard Jonah Antonio who will be away with the Australian Gangurrus team at the FIBA 3x3 World Cup in Mongolia, but coach Carl Filpo is confident he has the players who can fill that void.

And while all four games over the next eight days are going to be crucial in their season, Filpo isn’t looking past Friday night's home game with the Redbacks because of the heartbreak they have seemed to enjoy inflicting on East Perth in recent seasons.

That included just three weeks ago when despite the Redbacks missing a host of key players and the Eagles looking to build momentum, Perth scored the 12-point win on their home floor.

Filpo hasn’t forgotten that and is looking for his team to make amends to get this four-game stretch off to the perfect start before even thinking about the away clash with Cockburn on Saturday.

"I know for me personally at least I go into the game thinking we owe them one just because of the way we played against them last time," Filpo said.

"We've now had three one-point losses in-a-row at their place so there's definitely a drive and an incentive there to get one back, and we definitely owe them one.

"They're an interesting team because they did outrebound us last time and our guys didn’t show up from that side, but they now have Joe Cook-Green back and that might make them a little bit more predictable than when he's not there.

"Last time they had a couple of role players who did a great job with Cousteau Kyle and Matt Teale who really well played well so we need to make sure we're more focused on all their guys.

"They're also a tough team to scout because you never know who is suiting up in any given game with how many players they have to choose from so there's a lot to prepare for with them and we just have to be ready, and onto it from the start."