Gandini milestone to savour back home at Tigers

Featured image: @mvalzmedia

She is already likely the league's greatest defender and after some time away both at rival NBL1 West clubs, in the WNBL and overseas, it feels right seeing Emma Gandini at Willetton Tigers and her team showed what she means with a stirring win in her 250th game.

Gandini grew up at Willetton and made her SBL debut back in 2012 joining a team that were reigning premiers and by 2016 she was already a championship winner where she was backing up the likes of Kate Malpass, Lara Napier and Ebony Antonio in the back court.

By the time she won another championship at the Tigers in 2021, she had turned herself into the best defender in the competition, a reliable outside shooter and a standout point guard and the last five years now have opened up so many unexpected opportunities.

That included getting to have a couple of WNBL seasons with the Perth Lynx where she got to play meaningful minutes, she spent a season in the NBL1 North at the North Gold Coast Seahawks that included hitting a stunning game winner, and then also two years as a professional in the UK.

That included winning a championship in 2025 with the Sheffield Hatters while closer to home, she had a memorable experience with some of her closest friends winning a third championship with the Rockingham Flames in 2024, and was part of the Warwick Senators that made the Grand Final in 2025.

She has embraced all those opportunities the last five years, but Willetton is always going to be her basketball home and it was only fitting as the Tigers captain again on return in 2026, that's where she was able to celebrate her 250-game milestone.

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 While Gandini was excited to return to Willetton in 2026 for the first time since the Grand Final season of 2022, it hasn’t quite gone to plan and going into her 250th game last Saturday night they had lost 11 straight including to Mandurah by 48 points the previous night.

However, back at Willetton Basketball Stadium and the Tigers produced what was likely their best performance of the season to beat the fourth placed Warwick Senators to celebrate the 250th game of their three-time championship winning three-time Defensive Player of the Year captain.

"I have known what we've been capable of as a team all year and I'm sure Sue (Williams) and the coaches have been on the same boat so obviously it was amazing and came at the perfect time for me with the 250th game, but it honestly wasn't out the blue for us," Gandini said.

"I knew we could do that and it was just good timing for me being my 250th that we finally came together as a team and proved what we can do.

"At the same time it's a bit disappointing because we've only got two games left, but it was just one of those nights I guess where everyone played their role, everyone brought what they needed to and being my 250th, for me it was the perfect outcome."

Season not as bad as record suggests

Willetton have been perennial finalists and championship contenders through much of the history of the SBL/NBL1 West including winning nine championships of which Gandini was part of in 2016 and 2021.

They have also made another six Grand Finals of which Gandini played in back in 2015 and 2022 so it's a different feeling for everyone seeing them out of playoff contention now in 2026 with two rounds to go – including for her.

She also played in two Grand Finals in her two seasons in the league away from Willetton at Rockingham and Warwick so it's a new experience for her, but she also feels the 4-14 record doesn’t tell the full story.

The full squad has never come to fruition with Alex Fowler signing but not arriving and now even last year's Grand Final MVP Ruby Porter is sidelined, but still the Tigers haven’t been far away.

Of the 14 losses, five have been by single figures and especially losses against the Perry Lakes Hawks and Cockburn Cougars were ones they could consider themselves decidedly unlucky in not having two big wins in the space of 24 hours.

Gandini also missed a couple of games after having her appendix removed, but overall does hope that the Tigers can build on this season under a new coach for the first time since 2013, Sue Williams.

"I missed the game when the girls went up to Kalgoorlie and had a big loss and then about a week after that I had to get my appendix out and then my first game back was when Kalgoorlie came down to play us, and in most games since we've been up something like 20 and found ways to lose," Gandini said.

"So the good thing has been that we've been playing well enough to be in those winning positions aside from a couple of games like the Mandurah games last week, and we've been showing how competitive we can be against the top teams.

"Potentially the difference has been that those teams have a bit more experience in those close games and I think really, and I've said this from the start, it's almost like when we're not used to winning you keep finding ways to lose.

"I think if we had won against Kalgoorlie or any of those close games, things could have changed a lot but it's just been one of those years where not many things have gone in our favour.

"So as much as it's been good to be back at Willetton and being surrounded by a great bunch of coaches, and the team, it's just been one of those years that I've never experienced.

"I think it's going to be my first season here where I haven’t made the top eight and hopefully it ends up being the only one."

Feels right being back at Willetton

Gandini would never change those three years she spent away from Willetton including a season at North Gold Coast and then winning a championship with Rockingham alongside the likes of Jess Jakens, Alex Sharp, Sophie Doran and even long-time back court rival, Shani Amos.

Then after her successful season in the UK, she came in late in 2025 and it worked out well to join the Senators, but now it does feel like she's back home at Willetton in 2026 and with her business set up in Applecross too, she might well be back home for good.

"It is obviously good being back but I don't regret the last couple of years either and especially that year at Rocko, all of my friends were on that team and I loved playing with Dora, JJ, Sharpy and all those girls," Gandini said.

"But being back at Willetton and being back around a lot of familiar faces has been really good, and even at one of my first trainings back it was good just to talk to the cleaner again who I hadn’t seen in a couple of years and all admin people, the volunteers and all those familiar faces.

"Then the game nights I get to see so many people I've known for a long time and it does feel right to be back, and other than losing more than we've won, it's been a good year just to be back here.

"And to be honest, I wasn’t totally sure if I was going to play this year because I thought I'd be back in the UK until about May like last year and I thought I might have needed a break, but then things changed around December-January.

"I was weighing up calling the quits or not, but chatted to Mel (Marsh) and Sue down at Willo, and it's worked out all for the best besides not winning or finishing in the top eight."

Unexpected late career explosion

Just because Gandini had to bide her time to wait for a big role to open up at Willetton for a lot of her career, she never really thought there would be anything beyond the NBL1 for her and building one of the all-time great Willetton careers.

But all of a sudden, she got her first WNBL opportunity at the Perth Lynx for two seasons, then played a season in the NBL1 North, played at Rockingham and Warwick, and then have two seasons in the UK.

For all that to happen when she was getting towards 30 meant the whole thing has been somewhat of an unexpected surprise, but it's something she has embraced and made the most of at the same time.

"I think I was 26 or 27 when the Lynx chance first started and I think it genuinely just happened because I was enjoying playing and was in the right place at the right time for that to open," Gandini  said.

"That then opened up the Gold Coast opportunity and now some chances overseas and it is pretty crazy when I think about it because if think back to only 2018 or 2019, those sort of things would have never really felt possible.

"Five years ago I never thought any of that would be possible so it's pretty crazy but I'm glad I've got to enjoy all those different experiences."

Getting to experience life as a pro

As someone who had spent her life up to that point juggling working full-time with her basketball career, it was actually quite an adjustment for Gandini to spend the past two seasons playing professionally at the Sheffield Hatters.

She did find that the life as a pro might leave her with too much idle time on her times just because she is so used to having a life where she's always on the go trying to juggle everything, but she will always be grateful to have had the chance to experience that life.

"It was good to find out what that life was like and I don’t know if it's different for me because I already had a full-time job and had my career under my belt before I went and played over there," Gandini said.

"Because when I was over there, the majority of my time was spent focused on basketball and to be honest I feel like you do need to be doing something else at the same time because living as an athlete it can feel like all you do is wake up, train, sleep and nap, sleep and eat, and play.

"Obviously it's a privilege to get to live that sort of lifestyle, but I think I was also grateful that I had a bit of the work side of things to have as well so you have something else to take your focus a little bit and to keep your mind occupied especially when you're away from your family and friends.

"But in terms of being able to live that lifestyle, obviously it was amazing and getting to train every day and being around likeminded people was really cool."

Settling back in Perth

After her season in Sheffield ended earlier than anticipated on the back of the championship in 2025, Gandini returned home to Perth and focused on setting up her bookkeeping business, EMG Accounts, with an office now in Applecross.

She wasn’t sure what that meant in terms of basketball and there was indeed a chance she didn’t return to NBL1 level, but it didn’t take long when talking to new Tigers coach Sue Williams and assistant, and former teammate, Mel Marsh that she knew she wanted to be back.

Things might always change and if a call comes in for an offer to play somewhere Gandini will consider it, but she'd be more than happy to settle back home in Perth now too.

"I think that's the plan but five years ago I never would have pictured what happened since then so I wouldn’t rule anything out," Gandini said.

"My main goal this year was to get to the point of enjoying basketball again and most people agree, when you go from doing it as a hobby to a full-time job it can start to just feel like a job.

"It's not that I wasn’t grateful for every experience, but I got to the point where I was feeling a little bit burnt out or not sure what was next so my main goal coming back home was to get back to enjoying it which I have.

"And for me, if I'm enjoying it and am happy, that's when I'm playing my best too so you never say never, but at this point I'm happy to stay here and spend a summer in Perth again and be around my family and friends, and keep working."

Taking on another former team

Now in the short-term, fresh off Gandini celebrating her 250-game milestone last Saturday night with the win against her team from last year, Warwick, the Tigers now face the team she won a championship with back in 2024.

Gandini missed the game earlier this season against Rockingham so is looking forward to this Saturday night to take them on back on her former home floor.

"I'm feeling pretty good about it and I missed the first game against them when I had appendicitis but I was watching it on the TV and thought the girls did a really good job competing," Gandini said.

"Hopefully now this week we can take that confidence from how we played on Saturday and bring that into this game and we've always had the ability, and I think any team in this league has the ability to beat anyone on any given night.

"So it will be good to get back down to Rocko and say hi to some of the people I know down there and hopefully we can come away with the win and cause some riff raff in the top four and top eight."