Eagles Rd 6 Preview | Home v Warwick

Featured image: Mark Filpo (@codexdesignstudio)

The East Perth Eagles had a pair of wins against the Warwick Senators just three weeks ago and they will look to repeat the dose again this Friday night on their home floor at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

The Eagles are back home on Peter Campbell Basketball Arena this Friday night to take on their local rivals with the women's match up against the Senators beginning at 6:30pm with the men's clash to follow at 8:30pm.

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WOMEN

The Eagles and Warwick Senators played out a tremendous contest only three weeks ago and now come into this Friday night's clash at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre on identical 4-1 records and looking to make a statement.

Both teams have made strong starts to the new season to have won four of their five matches to date and they meet for a second time already on Friday night across the opening six rounds of the season.

The first meeting was back in Round 3 and on that night at Warwick Stadium it was the Eagles prevailing 85-80 to hand the Senators a first loss of the 2026 season.

Since then, East Perth suffered a first loss to the Joondalup Wolves before hitting back last week on Anzac Day at home to the Perry Lakes Hawks for the 13-point victory.

The Senators, meanwhile, have bounced back since losing to the Eagles with wins against the Perth Redbacks and the Wolves by a combined 33 points.

That leaves both teams now on 4-1 records coming into the Friday night clash which does present a chance for each side to make a statement and to consolidate themselves in a top two position by the end of six rounds.

Since that last meeting in Round 3 the Eagles have lost guard Jasmin Fejo to a season-ending knee injury, but two-time championship winning forward Sarah Mortensen has now settled in having played two games including 18 points and nine rebounds on Anzac Day against Perry Lakes.

The game is also a second time now for former Senators coach Jonelle Morley and captain Stacey Barr to come up against a Warwick team they won an NBL1 West and NBL National championship with back in 2022 having now taken on the same roles with East Perth as of 2026.

Fresh off winning the Anzac Medal in last Saturday's win against Perry Lakes, Eagles forward Jo Odude is looking forward to take on the Senators on Friday and to try and keep their undefeated home record in 2026 alive.

"I think they will definitely give us a good fight and obviously we don't have Jas like we did in the last game, but I think we'll be able to take them on," Odude said.

"And we haven't lost at home yet so I think that's a big contributing factor."

MEN

Friday night looms as a fascinating Round 6 men's NBL1 West contest with the East Perth Eagles attempting to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss and the Warwick Senators trying to keep building some momentum.

The two teams clash at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre on Friday night with the Eagles currently sitting on a 3-2 record and the Senators at 2-3 with both coming off strong seasons in 2025.

Warwick made the Grand Final and went agonisingly close against the Geraldton Buccaneers at RAC Arena while the Eagles also made it to the second round having won a first final since the 2014 championship triumph.

The two teams have already played one another once back in Round 3 with the Eagles winning 94-75 at Warwick Stadium with NBL26 Perth Wildcats pair David Okwera and Lat Mayen outstanding on that night combining for 51 points and 24 rebounds.

Mayen didn’t play in the Anzac Day two-point loss for the Eagles against the Perry Lakes Hawks but there is a chance he will return on Friday night to take on Warwick.

The Senators have now significantly strengthened their front court since that loss to the Eagles in Round 3 with former NBL forward and championship winning captain Cody Ellis back in the line-up while they have added big man Will Tschetter fresh off winning an NCAA national championship with Michigan.

Warwick also started to build some momentum with their 14-point win against the Joondalup Wolves last week ahead of Friday's match up with the Eagles where their captain Jay Thwaites will also be celebrating his 250-game milestone.

Eagles coach Carl Filpo knows that it's a significantly different Senators team now that they will face on Friday night to the one they beat in Round 3, and his team will need to be on top of their game to prevail.

"Cody's got the experience and he can shoot it, and is another big body out there on the floor so they are going to have a bit of a different look and feel out there," Filpo said.

"I don't know too much about Tschetter other than he had 25 and 13 in his first game so we're going to have to be ready for him, and he looks good and they are going to be a good and tough team.

"(Marshawn) Blackmon is coming off a nother 40-piece as well so we're going to have to get the job done on him as well and they will be hungry and feeling good against a good win against Joondalup.

"We're going to have to be at our best for sure to beat them."