Joondalup Wolves

Joondalup Wolves is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Wanneroo Basketball Association (WBA), the major administrative basketball organisation in the Joondalup/Wanneroo region. The Wolves play their home games at HBF Arena.

Club history

Background
In 1982, Wanneroo District Basketball Association was established. In 1983, the association moved into Joondalup Basketball Stadium. Being one of the fastest growing associations in Western Australia in their early years, 1985 marked the inaugural year of the Wolves' acceptance into District basketball. In just their second season, both the A Grade Men and A Grade Women won 1986 State League championships.

SBL and NBL1 West
1989 saw the formation of the State Basketball League (SBL) with both a men's and women's competition. Wanneroo, trading as the Wolves, entered a team into both the Men's SBL and Women's SBL. In 1990, the women's team reached their first WSBL Grand Final, where they defeated the Stirling Senators 70–67 to win the championship. In 1992, the women's team won their second championship with a 74–64 victory over the Swan City Mustangs in the grand final. In 1993, the men's team won their first championship with a 109–91 victory over Cockburn Cougars in the grand final. In 1995, the women's team won the minor premiership and reached the WSBL Grand Final, where they defeated the Mustangs 2–0 in the best-of-three series to win their third championship. In 1997, the women's team reached their fourth WSBL Grand Final, where they were defeated 62–52 by the Willetton Tigers.

In 2011, the men's team reached the grand final, where they defeated the Perry Lakes Hawks 88–83 to claim their second championship. In 2012, both teams won the minor premiership but both failed to reach the grand final. In 2013, both teams made grand final appearances, with the women defeating the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 72–47 to claim their fourth championship while the men were defeated 77–74 by the Lakeside Lightning.

In 2014, Wanneroo Basketball Association changed their trading name from Wanneroo Wolves to Joondalup Wolves.

In 2015, the men's team claimed their second minor premiership and reached the MSBL Grand Final, where they won their third championship with a 105–75 win over the South West Slammers. In 2016, the women's team claimed their third minor premiership with a 19–3 record before going on to lose 60–58 to the Willetton Tigers in the WSBL Grand Final. The men's team meanwhile made their way through to the MSBL Grand Final, where they were defeated 96–84 by the Cockburn Cougars. In 2017, the men's team reached their third straight MSBL Grand Final, where they lost 103–70 to the Perth Redbacks. In 2018, the Wolves moved into HBF Arena after playing out of Joondalup Basketball Stadium for more than three decades. The men's team went on to reach the their fourth straight MSBL Grand Final, where they lost 94–87 to the Perry Lakes Hawks. In 2019, the men's team claimed their third minor premiership and reached their fifth straight MSBL Grand Final, where they lost 92–80 to the Geraldton Buccaneers.

In 2020, the women's team finished as minor premiers in the amateur-based West Coast Classic. They reached the grand final, where they defeated the Perry Lakes Hawks 72–54.

In 2021, the SBL was rebranded as NBL1 West. The Wolves women reached the grand final in the inaugural NBL1 West season, where they were defeated by the Willetton Tigers 65–54. In 2023, the men reached the NBL1 West grand final, where they lost 86–80 to the Geraldton Buccaneers.

Notable club figures
In August 2015, Wanneroo Basketball Association announced the retirements of Life Members and longstanding employees Van and Mary Kailis. Having commenced work with WBA in 1986, Van and Mary Kailis were considered the forefront of basketball's growth in the Wanneroo area, building one of the most successful and professionally operated basketball associations in Western Australia. During his time with the Wolves, Van won WSBL Coach of the Year in 1990, guided the women to championships in 1986 and 1990, and worked as an assistant coach with the Wolves men.

Accolades

Women
Championships: 4 (1990, 1992, 1995, 2013)
Grand Final appearances: 7 (1990, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2013, 2016, 2021)
Minor premierships: 3 (1995, 2012, 2016)

Men
Championships: 3 (1993, 2011, 2015)
Grand Final appearances: 9 (1993, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023)
Minor premierships: 3 (2012, 2015, 2019)

References

External links
WBA's official website

Basketball teams in Western Australia
NBL1 West teams
Basketball teams established in 1989
1989 establishments in Australia