THE Joondalup Wolves certainly aren’t short on talent but coach Craig Friday is proud they won the Women's SBL minor premiership for 2016 on the back of having a largely local group of players and he is hoping that chemistry and passion for the club can continue in the finals.

Friday has taken over as coach of the Women's Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves in 2016 and guided the team to first place and a 19-3 record heading into the quarter-final match up with the Cockburn Cougars starting Saturday at Joondalup Basketball Stadium.

The Wolves did have some significant departures coming into the season with Chelsea Burns, Antonia Edmondson, Casey Lockwood and Rebecca Mercer (now Benson) among those moving on.

But upon taking over from 2013 championship winning coach Vlad Alava, Friday took the decision to focus on the local Joondalup talent and that included signing Klara Wischer from the WNBL where she played last season with the Perth Lynx.

Wischer's impact has been remarkable with her averaging 18.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.0 steals, but it's the other local products that Friday has backed in throughout the season that has ensured the Wolves claimed the minor premiership.

While most other Women's SBL clubs have opted for at least one restricted player, Friday and the Wolves decided against that and that makes him even more proud to see his group perform as they have.

"One of the key things when we took over the job this year was to make sure that we continued to nurture some of our kids, and use the kids that we've got. Klara has been a local kid and she's been an outstanding pick up for us," Friday said.

"It's a good reward for our group and it's a good testament to what's actually out there. They are showing that if you give them an opportunity, there's no reason they can't play basketball at this level.

"We spoke about it in pre-season but when we secured Klara we thought we had a pretty good balance. If we got another one it would have taken away some opportunities from our kids. We were pretty content to keep going with what we've got and it's paid off for us so far."

One player to greatly benefit from Friday's system this season has been Amy Kidner.

The 22-year-old left-hander was a solid part of Joondalup's team last season that lost to the Willetton Tigers in the semi finals averaging 6.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 15 minutes but her game has gone to another level in 2016.

She is averaging 15.4 points and 6.8 boards a game with 26 minutes while shooting over 50 per cent from the field and 71 per cent from the foul line.

Kidner was again outstanding last Friday night the win over the Cougars that proved to be a quarter-final preview as she had 30 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the field.

For Friday, she is just one example of how players can thrive when given increased opportunities.

"On any given night it can be anyone on our team. This week it was Amy's turn but a couple of other girls gave her the space to work with by hitting shots early. Our team balance in offence was really good," he said.

"I think she's settled away from the court. She knows she's going to be here, she's got some structure in her life away from the court and I think that helps. She has a clear and concise thought process, and it's obviously helped her play good basketball.

"She's always had the talent but she is really applying herself this year. She has moved into the starting group too so she is getting the opportunity to touch the ball a bit more. We focus a lot on shifting the ball and moving the ball as a team to get everyone good opportunities."

The Wolves were always going to finish in top spot no matter the result last Friday night and there was always a chance the Cougars would end up being their quarter-final opponents. They finished off the season on a high taking out the 90-71 victory at Wally Hagan Stadium.

That sees the Wolves finish the season on a three-game winning run and while there wasn’t any special incentive, Friday was happy with the form his team takes into the finals and knows there's still further improvement left.

"We didn’t worry about if we would play them again in the finals or not. We just wanted to make sure we finished off the season the way we have to make sure we got our 19th win of the season which we got. We didn’t want to change the station or the process at all," he said.

"I still think there's some room for improvement and we'll work on that during the week. It's pleasing to be playing well and if you told me at the start of the season we'd end up finishing 19-3 I probably would have called you insane.

"But the girls have worked hard as a group throughout the whole season on and off the court. We've got the balance pretty right so it's a credit to them and it's thoroughly deserved."

For the Lady Wolfpack to finish the regular season against last year's grand finalists the Rockingham Flames and Willetton Tigers is another point of pride for the Wolves and Friday given the quality basketball both those teams are playing with some outstanding squads.

Knowing that the Wolves have done so without an import and a group virtually made up of local talents is something the coach is greatly proud of.

"The season starts now realistically and hopefully we'll see one of them in the grand final if we make it all the way through. But it's a good achievement to finish above those teams," Friday said.

"This team over the last couple of seasons hasn’t got to the top so finishing there is a good reward for what they've done.

"We are rewarding our kids and junior programs, and we will continue to do that. We create atmosphere because we create opportunities for kids inside the program. They look up and they see other kids grabbing that opportunity and their time will come. The future is bright for the club."

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Mick Cronin