Image credit: Madeleine Clark | @madeleineclarkmedia

Having played NBL games at RAC Arena, Brad Robbins is delighted for Warwick Senators players will get to experience that in NBL1 West Grand Final with him feeling no pressure against the undefeated Cockburn Cougars.

The last game of Robbins' 215-match NBL career was a Grand Final at RAC Arena for the Perth Wildcats in 2013 against the New Zealand Breakers so he knows all about what his Senators players are going to experience on Saturday against the Cougars.

That's why he will be urging them to embrace everything about Grand Final week in the lead up and then to soak up the occasion once the game gets underway on Saturday.

"I've not been on that floor in any kind of coaching or playing capacity since we lost that Grand Final game to New Zealand in my last NBL season," Robbins said.

"It's going to be a unique feeling for me, but I'm excited to also share it with Rogey in particular after everything we've been through.

"I've also never coached in a game as big as this so that's going to be different too. It's a lot different as a player where you feel you can have so much effect on the game but there's only so much you can do as a coach from the sideline.

"I'm just really excited with the lead up for the week but for me I just want our girls to have a great experience as a player, and really soak it up and am so grateful and happy for them they will get to experience it."

Taking on the undefeated Cougars

The Senators finished the regular season in second position having been in that spot virtually all year even with losing three of the last five games when the injury bug hit with Robbi Ryan, Chloe Forster and Emma Gandini joining Kiara Waite sidelined.

Despite that, the Senators showed great heart to beat the Perth Redbacks and Mandurah Magic in home finals at Warwick Stadium to book in their place in Saturday's Grand Final at RAC Arena.

Their opponents are a Cougars team who have played in the last two NBL1 West Grand Finals and who have won all 22 of their games in 2025 by an average of 31.6 points.

But Robbins has full faith in what his Senators team are capable of and is not feeling any sense of pressure heading into the Grand Final.

"They're undefeated, they're 22-0 and I assume people don’t expect us to win, and I assume we're the underdog and everything," Robbins said.

"We have zero pressure, they are 22-0 so my messaging all week to these girls is to enjoy the experience.

"Some of them might never experience it again and I will tell them to enjoy this experience for what it is, and then to come out and play the way that we have played and believe in that.

"We've been in games we shouldn’t be, we've won games we shouldn’t have and going in with that mentality means the result will take care of itself but as a coach I don’t feel any pressure at all.

"I know the rest of the coaching staff and the players don’t either, we're just coming in thinking we have nothing to lose and we're in a great position coming into it."

Perfect example from NBL1 South

If Robbins and his Senators players need any motivation of what is possible when taking on a team with a perfect record, they only have to look to the NBL1 South from this past Saturday night where the Knox Raiders beat a Geelong United team who had won all 24 of their games so far in 2025.

Robbins will certainly be mentioning that to his players this week, but really, he would already be expecting his players to have full belief they are capable of winning.

"It's definitely something I will talk to our players about because it shows what's possible, but also if anybody that's in that room doesn’t already think we can win it, then they are probably in the wrong room," Robbins said.

"Don't get me wrong, Cockburn are a great team and they have set the bar all year and they are the best team in the competition by far.

"That's why they are 22-0 and I'm not shying away from that at all, but I also am very competitive and I know every one of our girls are as well. We just focus on us and we do our thing, and whatever happens, happens."

Overcoming adversity to reach Grand Final

The vision that Robbins had for this Warwick team had the potential of the deepest and best back court perhaps of any NBL1 team in the country featuring Forster, Ryan, Gandini, Youth Player of the Year Kyana Weir and two-time MVP and captain Stacey Barr.

Then with two WNBL forwards Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard and Kiara Waite along with remarkable veteran centre and Olympian Nat Burton up front, and it was quite the squad Warwick were going to have.

That was on paper at least. The reality has been that the vision has never once come to fruition all season long with Waite only ending up playing five games, Gandini nine, Barr 17, Forster 15 and Ryan three.

The Senators were then right up against it coming into the finals series missing Gandini, Waite and Ryan for that qualifying final against the Perth Redbacks at Warwick Stadium who featured Anneli Maley, Nat Chou, Patty Brossmann and Georgia Denehey.

However, Warwick dug deep to pull off a stunning win even with Chloe Forster hurting her other ankle on return from injury.

That allowed the Senators to remain at home for Saturday night's preliminary final but they were still without Forster, Gandini and Ryan. They dominated most of the way against a Mandurah Magic team who had eliminated the defending champion Rockingham Flames.

Factor in those two gutsy finals wins with buzzer beating wins throughout the regular season including in the opening night thanks to Clinch Hoycard against the Lakeside Lightning, and then late in the piece thanks to Barr against the Joondalup Wolves, and Robbins loves their will to win.

"Before the Redbacks game no one thought we were going to win the game externally and I had people asking me how on earth we were even there after missing some massive names," Robbins said.

"But all year actually we've just found ways to win. It started in the first game against Lakeside when we were down 20 and Mackenzie banks a three after a crazy comeback and Sian Grinceri is on the floor as an 18-year-old kid who's never played.

"We then did it last year too where we didn’t really find our groove from the get go and we took a while to grind through, and we did it this year where we were finding different ways to win.

"It's through different girls stepping up each week and we're not afraid as a coaching staff to try different things. And we've just had to adapt with girls being injured or away, and having people available and unavailable.

"We still finished second and we did really well to do that, but I still think it was a hard slog to get to that second and each week we were finding ways to win."

Tenacity and heart can overcome a lot

Obviously as a coach if your team can just go out there and blow a team away with some dazzling offensive displays and hot shooting then you are never going to complain.

But at the same time, given Robbins built his reputation during his own playing career of being a tenacious defender and a brilliant leader who was equally supportive and would hold his teammates to account, winning in other ways can mean just as much.

Given the obstacles Warwick have overcome, for Robbins to see his team win their two finals games largely on the back of pure spirit, heart, hustle and energy instils an enormous amount of pride.

"The one thing that I've always said to this group is that they don't quit and they will continue to give the effort that is available to them," Robbins said.

"Everybody has a different version of playing hard but winning is pretty universal and you either give up and roll over or you don’t.

"With our group, they just refuse to give up and they will constantly no matter the situation they just never give up. They continue to give everything they've got and that's all you can ask for as a coach."

Chance for stars to try playing

While Waite was able to successfully return in the preliminary final for the Senators, there's no guarantee that Ryan, Gandini and/or Forster will be able to play at all in the Grand Final on Saturday.

At the same time, Robbins will give each of them every chance and he knows they will be doing all they can to try and be part of it.

"All of our girls that are out desperately want to play and some are in better positions to do that than others," Robbins said.

"KJ obviously played last week and she's been desperate to play for weeks so it will be pretty hard to stop any of those girls wanting to suit up, but whether they can or not is another story."

Chris Pike

No pressure for Robbins, Senators in Grand Final