Thank You Red Army ❤️

Dear Red Army, 

I wanted to reach out to say a heartfelt thank you for your amazing support during my first season as Perth Wildcats owner.

From taking the reins just before our historic pre-season tour of Japan, to celebrating Jesse Wagstaff’s record-breaking 483rd game, Bryce Cotton becoming a five-time NBL MVP and seven-time Gordon Ellis medallist, making playoffs for a second consecutive season and falling just one-point short of qualifying for our first championship series in four years, it’s been a crazy ride in NBL25.

I’m already looking forward to next season and building on what we’ve achieved this year. We’re only scratching the surface and I feel like we’re on the way to building sustained success under Head Coach John Rillie, General Manager of Basketball Operations Danny Mills and the team.

To echo what ‘JR’ said in his post-match press conference after our heartbreaking game three loss to Melbourne United, I believe we are heading in the right direction and have made excellent progress.

The support and passion from the Red Army is second to none in the NBL and it’s been special to experience it first hand. We truly have the best supporters in the league and we’re so lucky to have you packing out RAC Arena game after game. The noise during our stunning game two comeback was the loudest I’ve ever heard and there’s no doubt the Red Army played a massive part in us forcing a series decider.

My first season as owner was certainly a learning experience, coming on board with less than a month to go before the opening round. To have a full off-season to plan and reload for NBL26 is going to be really exciting and I can’t wait to get stuck in as we look to go bigger and better in the pursuit of our 11th championship.

See you back at The Jungle in NBL26.

Sincerely,
Mark Arena