A season that began with enormous promise ended in disappointment when Melbourne United fell to the Perth Wildcats on Sunday and the reset begins now as the powerhouse looks to challenge again next season.
United won their first nine games and looked every bit a championship contender as new imports Tyson Walker and Jesse Edwards helped spark that flying start, but injuries and inconsistency eventually derailed their momentum.
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Chris Goulding, Shea Ili, Jesse Edwards and several key role players all battled injury at different stages of the season, hampering the back-to-back championship runners-up. After opening the year 9-0, United closed the regular season with a 20-13 record, having lost 12 of their final 20 games heading into the playoffs.
They managed to get past the Tasmania JackJumpers, but ran into Wildcats side desperate to respond after its loss to South East Melbourne in its first final.
United controlled the tempo early, but the Wildcats found their rhythm inside and out, finishing strongly to run away with the 95-77-point win at RAC Arena.
Reflecting on the season post-game, head coach Dean Vickerman said he was disappointed with the result but pleased the group had shown both resilience and its potential throughout a challenging campaign.
“I’m proud of our group and it’s one of those years where we had the highest highs with the way that we started, and we had some pretty bad lows and we got back to this point where everyone was on the same page,” Vickerman said.
“I thought our best was good enough to really challenge, but credit to JR (John Rillie) and Perth, and Jo (Lual-Acuil Jr) really wanted that game tonight, you could just see it, and Doo and those guys really stood up.”
Vickerman said there were still plenty of positives to take from the season, highlighting the club’s role in the NBA’s visit to Australia, the development of Next Star Dash Daniels and the strength of the club’s culture through adversity.
“You go back to us playing the first NBA game in Australia and being super competitive and doing good things for the league by bringing an NBA team to Australia, so it started there,” Vickerman said.
United end JackJumpers’ season | 00:51
“You go on a journey with Dash (Daniels) as a Next Star, veterans and how they manage their bodies, and I’m really proud of my own staff that I can go away with the Boomers and I really trusted those guys, and they grew.
“I get sick and Rhys Carter takes over for a couple of games and as a club, when you’re down and losing games and struggling after playing really well, you need your culture to stand up.
“I thought there was a lot of leaders in our team that really stood up to help us get back on track.”
After such a hot start, the drop-off will sting even more given the hype that surrounded the club early in the season, with Damon Lowery at one point claiming United would not lose a game in 2025.
Now, attention turns to an important offseason.
At present Goulding, Ili, Fabijan Krslovic and Kyle Bowen remain contracted, while Finn Delany holds a mutual option that is reportedly expected to be taken up especially following his strong finals campaign.
One major concern is the fitness of Ili, who managed just 12 appearances from United’s 35 games this season due to persistent hamstring issues. In the loss to Perth, he played less than five minutes before being ruled out for the rest of the contest.
Following back-to-back grand final defeats and now a straight-sets finals exit, United will be determined to climb back into contention.
But with reports emerging Vickerman could explore overseas opportunities, this shapes as a pivotal offseason for one of the league’s powerhouse clubs.
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