As the Mandurah Magic men’s team begins their pre-season training, coach Jason Kyle is adamant they will be back in the finals this year.
Last season, the magic were knocked out by the Perth Redbacks in the quarter-finals in straight sets.
The roster remains mostly the same this season, with the addition of former Redbacks guard Jarrad Jackson.
“On paper our roster is looking really good, but everyone knows all sports are not played on paper,” Kyle said.
“We will be running a different type of game style and we have been looking at the breakdown more.
“The Mandurah Magic has always played an up-tempo type of game but I think we need to control the tempo a bit more and control the game ourselves.”
Kyle took over as coach at the end of the season after Jason Chalk was removed before the Magic's last playoff game against the Redbacks.
He said the side can go a lot further this year.
“Absolutely we want to achieve finals – that is our first aim,” he said.
“You never go into the season not aiming to achieve the ultimate goal, but you have to be realistic and the next 6-8 weeks will be pivotal.
“We are lucky we have kept all our big guys on.”
The side will be hoping most valuable player Taylor Mullenax can again lead the attack.
Mullenax averaged 27.2 points per game last year and finished as the seventh best scorer in the league to go along with his 10.6 rebounds per game.
Kyle is also happy the side retained both imports from last year and said they were lucky to have such a strong group of forwards and centres.
