Malone embraces being Eagles defensive leader

Featured image: @slmediaau

There's no more versatile player in the NBL1 West and on a team with no shortage of offensive weapons, Brooke Malone has taken on the challenge to lead the defence at the East Perth Eagles and there's another job that awaits against the Goldfields Giants.

There's few players around the country playing in the NBL1 especially that are locals who are able to do everything out on a basketball court like Malone can.

The 23-year-old is in her first season with the Eagles and has never played better or more consistent basketball and while she's able to score a multiple of ways, can handle the ball and be a creator, and continues to be an outstanding rebounder, it's defensively she's really making her mark.

It was likely only the interior presence of Jessie Edwards and then the sheer brilliance of Emma Gandini that denied Malone a Defensive Player of the Year honour for 2026 too, but the importance of her defensive efforts isn’t lost on anyone within her Eagles team.

And it's her ability to guard anyone that makes her so invaluable and whether it’s the crafty guards like Chloe Forster and Esme Morales, the also versatile like Mikayla Pivec, Kim Pierre-Louis, Sara Puckett, Daniel Raber and Sam Ashby, or indeed bigs like she'll face on Friday night in Sierra Moore and Delaynie Byrne, Malone is up to any defensive challenge.

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The next challenge for Malone and the Eagles comes this Friday night when they play host to Byrne, Moore and the Goldfields Giants in a cut-throat semi-final match up at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

The winner will advance to Sunday's preliminary final against the Cockburn Cougars at Wally Hagan Stadium and Malone is calling on the Eagles fans to come to Peter Campbell Basketball Arena to get behind their team where they are 9-1 so far in 2026.

"Absolutely, we want everyone to get down here and I think when you've got your team backing you and your club backing you, it helps you 10 times more for sure," Malone said.

"So to all our fans, make sure you bring the energy, be loud, make sure you go for us and come down on Friday."

Taking on defensive roles

Malone is still a strong offensive player and is producing 15.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.6 steals a game this year, but with Stacey Barr, Sarah Mortensen and Sydney Wright, she knows scoring's no issue for this East Perth team.

But when coach Jonelle Morley recruited her, it was with an eye for Malone to be the head of the defence and she's embraced that challenge and the tests keep coming when she will likely spend much of the game up against Giants star Moore who can consider herself unlucky not to have been MVP.

"I think it's a challenge that I want and I want to come out and stop them the best I can, and put our team in the best position to win. So a defensive match up is what I've been given all year and I want to continue that in finals time," Malone said.

"I think that's what wins you championships and it's what wins you games is your defence so going into it that's the biggest part of the game. If you can play good defence, you're probably going to end up on top so I take massive pride in it."

Looking back on first final

The Eagles started their finals campaign last Saturday night on the road to the Rockingham Flames after finishing the regular season in third position with a 15-5 record.

They did pull off a terrific comeback to give themselves a shot of the win before falling two points short, but Malone has no doubt that East Perth will take plenty of heart they showed to fight back and to get so close against such a strong opponent on their home floor.

"The big thing for us going into that second half was putting the basketball back together and playing connected basketball. I think we were able to show that we were able to come back into games, we just had to put it all together for four quarters," Malone said.

"I think were a few things that happened in the first half and we had a few breakdowns, and we didn’t find the best shots or best options but we're definitely going to take that in and work on it during training this week to get ourselves sorted.

"I think we take a heap out of it and we know that we can play that type of basketball and we can play good finals basketball, and when we get up and in and work together, we can produce a really good brand of basketball."

Still two games from a Grand Final

Even though the Eagles did finish the regular season with a game against the top ranked defending champion Cockburn Cougars, Malone did notice just how much the tempo rose when the stakes were higher for the start of the finals last week against Rockingham.

Malone now has no doubt the Eagle will be able to learn from having played a game like that as they prepare to take on the Giants this Friday night, and hopefully continue on into the finals.

"I think so (level went up) and there's always an element to it that now the stakes are on the line and you're playing for a spot in the Grand Final in the end," Malone said.

"So it always goes up a level and it's what team can balance out first and who can get away with it at the end of it."