IN his return to the East Perth Eagles, men’s coach Adam Forde is aiming to take his team to the finals in 2019.
Forde, an assistant coach at the Perth Wildcats, coached the Eagles to the 2014 championship before leaving at the end of 2015.
The Eagles are eighth on the SBL ladder with three wins and three losses.
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READ NOWThey lost to Willetton Tigers 110-88 on Friday and the Goldfield Giants 120-110 on Saturday.
Forde said there were some “teething problems” early but the team was dedicated to being competitive.
“(We have) some good young talent coming through,” he said.
“We had a tough pre-season, which saw some guys leave or get cut, so that left us with some pretty mentally tough players.
“We lose Sunday Dech to the New Zealand NBL in two weeks but we have guys ready to step up and fill that void.”
Forde said it was great to play and train at the team’s new home at Herb Graham Recreation Centre in Mirrabooka.
“With the friendly staff here and the renovations that upgraded the whole place, it made it a great decision to move here,” he said.
“Plus we get to train where we play, which is a first for me. I love coming to practice and seeing the logo in the centre circle.”
He thanked Colin Driscoll for his involvement with player development and assisting the team in his absence.
His goals were to get some players prepared to trial for NBL development player positions and make the top eight.