Ari making most of Eagles opportunities

Image credit: Mark Filpo (@codexdesignstudio)

Ari van Vliet has put in the work to now be earning the most minutes of her NBL1 West career with East Perth Eagles as she reaches her 50-game milestone and she's only just getting started.

Having first played with the Eagles as a 10-year-old, the 19-year-old forward has spent almost half her life with the club. She has dedicated herself to continuing to get better all the time by doing nothing but working hard to earn more opportunities.

That's certainly paying off right now with van Vliet averaging a career-best 8.5 minutes a game in the 2025 season and in the 49th game of her career she produced six points, seven rebounds and played 18 minutes last Saturday night in double overtime in Kalgoorlie against the Goldfields Giants.

Now the hard working and energetic forward will play her 50th game with the Eagles this Friday night in the home clash with the Lakeside Lightning at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

Getting to milestone with Eagles

Given van Vliet first started playing with East Perth when she was just 10 years old and should she still be at the club in 2026 it will mark her 10-year anniversary, it's fair to say the club means a lot to her.

She now brings up 50 games in the NBL1 West this Friday night and she wouldn’t want to be playing her basketball anywhere but with the Eagles.

"East Perth means a lot to me. I’ve been at the club since I was 10 years old, and it’s a big part of my life," van Vliet said.

"I’ve met so many great people over the years and made some lifelong friends. I’ve seen a lot of growth in the club this year, which has been really exciting and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the Eagles!"

Summing up season 2025 so far

Coming into the 2025 season for the Eagles and it was always going to be fascinating to see how it panned out with former club president Tim Symons taking over as women's coach, and then a mass turnover in players.

While some younger players like van Vliet, Jaymie Symons, Akim Lual and Aleka Kabugua remained along with leaders Taylor Roberts and Tessa Morrison, there were plenty of big name new faces with Abby Cubillo, Sasha Goodlett, Madi Torresin, Awatea Leach and Emma Clarke.

The Eagles are now solid in their playoff position with a 9-7 record and still a chance of breaking back into the top four, and van Vliet is happy to be part of it and seeing how far the team has grown in 2025.

"The season has been really enjoyable so far. It's been exciting to see the team become cohesive and gel, and I think this shows on the court and in our success as a team," van Vliet said.

"Personally, I'm really happy with my season, being surrounded by and learning from some amazing players has been extremely beneficial. I look forward to seeing how far we can go this season!"

Hard work paying off

When Symons came on board as coach for the 2025 season, what he made clear to every member of the squad was that if you put in the work to earn minutes on game night, you would be rewarded to show what you can do.

That's exactly what van Vliet has done and she knuckled down to work harder than she ever has before. Now the rewards are coming with not only her most ever game time, but she's showing she can have an impact on the floor at NBL1 level too.

"Putting in the effort at every training, getting up extra shots, staying committed and then being ready when the opportunity does arise, is definitely important," van Vliet said.

"I'm very grateful that Tim has recognised my hard work over the years, and has given me the chance to show it on the court this season.

"I've definitely enjoyed being able to step out onto the NBL1 court much more this season. Taking on a bigger role has been challenging at times but I've definitely embraced it.

"It's been a great opportunity to develop my game and grow my confidence, as well as contribute in ways I hadn't in previous seasons."

Learning from high quality teammates

When you look at those new faces at East Perth this season and you have a WNBA champion with Goodlett who has played all over the world, you have a two-time WNBL champion with Cubillo, you have a current WNBL player with Clarke, and Torresin and Leach are two of the best all-round talents in the league.

While for van Vliet that's great to have such talent as teammates, it's also been invaluable for her to see the professionalism of each of them and to try to learn from that, but also to practice against them means it's helping her develop and grow immensely.

"It’s been awesome learning from such high quality players this season!" she said.

"It’s really pushed me to be better and play tougher. Sasha has been a great mentor this season and I’m really grateful to have her supporting me, although having to guard her in practice is definitely hard work!

"I was so glad to have Madi back this season! She's an amazing player and great person, and I love having her on the team.

"Awa’s energy on the court is really inspiring, and has taught me to just give it my all every time I play. Abby has been an excellent leader on and off the court, and is an exceptional player."

High hopes for rest of season

Even though the Eagles have hit a bit of a tough patch recently having lost five of the past seven matches, they are still in a strong position to firstly make finals, and have an impact.

Coming into Friday night's home game with Lakeside, East Perth are still within touching distance of the Willetton Tigers who are shaky in fourth place and van Vliet is rightfully excited over what can happen over the next seven weeks.

"I’m definitely excited to see what the rest of the season brings for our team," van Vliet said.

"It’s been great to be a part of the success this year, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how our team plays come finals."