Norton makes most of forced break

Perth Wildcats guard Mitch Norton has used the extended gap between games to his advantage.

Norton returned from a knee injury in the Wildcats last game – on 27 December against the Cairns Taipans.

Since then, the majority of the playing group has been infected with COVID, however Norton has managed to stay healthy.

“It’s been really handy for me obviously coming back from injury. To be allowed out and train and get a lot of reps under my body and into my legs has been fantastic,” Norton said.

“We’ve had a number of coaches who have been allowed to be there with me. The sessions have been based around what I ideally need to get back to where I want to be and help this group win. It has been fantastic in terms of that.

“When you have a number of coaches like that, the amount of reps you get between you and another player, is quite a lot. There’s not a lot of time to rest. That’s been handy for me and also the other player as well to get that conditioning going. The one-on-one individual aspect has really helped my fitness.”

Perth’s next game is scheduled for Tuesday, when they will head to Adelaide to take on the 36ers.

It will be both team’s first game for 2021.

Norton expects his team to have two full training sessions with the majority of his teammates available.