Wagstaff to join Wildcats 350 Club in Bendigo Blockbuster

One of the Perth Wildcats most successful players of all-time will reach a historic milestone when the reigning champions return to the court on Sunday.

Jesse Wagstaff will become just the fourth Wildcat to play 350 games for the club in the clash against Melbourne United in Bendigo on Sunday.

He will be the first Australian player to reach the milestone, with Ricky Grace, James Crawford and Shawn Redhage the others in the prestigious club.

“It’s an outstanding career, so hopefully we can celebrate Jesse’s milestone this week with a win. He’s been a club legend, fourth on the list now of games-played, passing Andrew Vlahov,” said coach Trevor Gleeson.

“Just those names, the category he’s in echoes what kind of career he’s had.”

The Wildcats clash on Sunday is their team’s first away game of 2020/21, and their first of at least 11-straight outside of WA.

They relocated to Melbourne via Sydney earlier this week as a result of WA’s five-day COVID lockdown.

“The guys are in really good spirits, we know what it is we’re here for, we’re making the best of what we can.”

Melbourne United are one of two undefeated sides so far this season, with three-straight wins to start the season.

“They recruited really well, I said pre-season that Melbourne and The Hawks recruited outstandingly, they both ticked all the boxes, and they’re both sitting at the top of the ladder,” said Gleeson.

“It’s a good look for us this weekend, but we’re really concentrating on ourselves. We’re still a new group and we’re still developing and building chemistry and building relationships.

“We have a long way to go to where we need to be, but hopefully we can take a step towards that this weekend.”

United star recruit Jock Landale s averaging 15 points and 7.7 boards per game, while veteran scorer Chris Goulding is once again delivering in 2020/21, with a team high 17.0 points per game including 12 made-threes over three games.

Tip-off on Sunday at Bendigo Stadium is at 2pm.

Watch the game live on VICELAND or SBS On Demand.