{"id":232768,"date":"2026-03-11T21:13:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T21:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/11\/couldnt-get-a-return-call-perth-coach-john-rillie-vents-ref-frustration-after-nbl-playoffs-nail-biter\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T21:13:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T21:13:00","slug":"couldnt-get-a-return-call-perth-coach-john-rillie-vents-ref-frustration-after-nbl-playoffs-nail-biter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/11\/couldnt-get-a-return-call-perth-coach-john-rillie-vents-ref-frustration-after-nbl-playoffs-nail-biter\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Couldn\u2019t get a return call\u2019: Perth coach John Rillie vents ref frustration after NBL playoffs nail-biter"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Perth Wildcats head coach John Rillie has questioned the consistency of the NBL\u2019s officiating after Wednesday night\u2019s 105\u2013104 loss to the Sydney Kings<\/a>, leaving his side facing a must-win game on Saturday to stay alive in the championship race.<\/p>\n

Watch live coverage of NBL and WNBL 2025-26 seasons with ESPN on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

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<\/b>Rillie was fuming post-match, taking aim at what he described as inconsistent standards and differing treatment of star players.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere there\u2019s a level of disappointment is we\u2019ve all watched the playoffs, right?\u201d Rillie said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach game gets reffed a little differently. I tried to reach out to the league on Monday and couldn\u2019t get a return call.<\/p>\n

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Kings down Wildcats in a thriller | 01:11<\/p>\n

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\u201c(I\u2019m) trying to be professional here, right? In terms of questioning. I wanted to understand \u2013 and I kid you not \u2013 they called JLA for a hooking foul. If that\u2019s a foul, there has to be that consistency throughout the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that wasn\u2019t there. All I want to know is how are we going to be officiated?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rillie then compared the foul count between Kings star Davis and his own standout Doolittle.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I understand and I know we put pressure on referees,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 11: John Rillie head coach of the Wildcats during game one of the NBL playoff series between Sydney Kings and Perth Wildcats at Qudos Bank Arena, on March 11, 2026, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cBut Kendric \u2013 how many fouls did he draw? Thirteen, 12, something like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow many for Doolittle? Five.\u201d<\/p>\n

The final possession proved contentious, with Wildcats players seeking contact in an attempt to draw a foul. Asked about that moment, Rillie offered a measured response.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t looked at it yet, so we\u2019ll see where the verticality was on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pressed further about his call to league headquarters regarding officiating, Rillie quickly shut it down.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m moving on. Let\u2019s move on from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the loss, Perth can take confidence from the performance after suffering heavy defeats in all three meetings with the Kings during the regular season.<\/p>\n

With Game 2 shifting to Perth, the Wildcats will look to respond on home court and force a decider back in Sydney.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Perth Wildcats head coach John Rillie has questioned the consistency of the NBL\u2019s officiating after Wednesday night\u2019s 105\u2013104 loss to the Sydney Kings, leaving his side facing a must-win game on Saturday to stay alive in the championship race. Watch live coverage of NBL and WNBL 2025-26 seasons with ESPN on Kayo Sports | New […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":232769,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[156],"class_list":{"0":"post-232768","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}