Norton’s instinct keeps him on court
VETERAN GUARD BATTLES THROUGH PAIN
THE competitive fire in Mitch Norton refuses to diminish.
It has driven him along a career that has spanned a decade in the nation’s top-tier basketball competition.
But it will be the next fortnight that the tough, nuggety point guard relies on it the most.
The Townsville-born guard is fighting a dramatic battle against his own body to help deliver the Perth Wildcats a third-straight NBL championship.
While the Perth club has kept the private details of his leg injury secret, Norton revealed to the Townsville Bulletin that he has required an intense program of massages, stretching and ice therapy just to take the court.
From there it has been sheer willpower getting him through to the final siren.
There has been a change to his style at the back for the Wildcats to limit the impact, but at times the 28-year-old has just bitten down on the mouthguard and forged through.
Because, really, there is no other option.
The Wildcats lost threetime MVP winner Bryce Cotton to a season-ending leg injury late last month, leaving Norton as pretty much the last line of defence in the point guard role for the finals series.
Norton was impressive in the semi-finals as the Wildcats saw off a willing challenge from the Hawks.
If they are to take down a dominant Melbourne United, and in the process win a thirdstraight title and their fifth in six seasons, Norton will become almost crucial.
It is why the Wildcats medical team have put so much work into getting him to a position where it merely becomes mind over matter.
“The medical staff here have been fantastic, they have gone above and beyond what I expected from them,” Norton said.
“I am really glad when it comes game time, (the injury) responds quite well to the treatment I have received around the clock.
“There are times when it is a bit painful, I just try to limit those moments.
“I am managing what I do in games and off the court. It is about getting everything around it as good as we can.
“In the semi-final, I was hopeful once the adrenaline kicked in, it would hold up. I really didn’t want to think about it too much. I told the medical guys ‘don’t keep coming to me asking how it
is’. I just focused in on what was required.
“That is one thing that is amazing about the body, you can put (the pain) aside and focus on one thing instead … It is special to find just what your body can achieve.”
But that ability doesn’t come naturally for everyone.
Norton’s has come from a career of having to fight his way to the top. From his days as a scruffy young guard on the junior courts of Townsville, through a career that
was left at a crossroads when his childhood club the Crocodiles folded in 2016.
Norton kept fighting for his opportunity at the Hawks, before landing at the most successful club in NBL history.
The first game of the grand final series will take on extra importance for Norton tonight, as it doubles as a milestone 100th game for the Wildcats.
For a player who brought up 250 games in the NBL a
fortnight ago, it is an important moment.
“Any professional athlete is determined and has goals. I have been lucky enough to have a lot of mentors along the way to help me with that.
“I am not the most talented player. I am not going out and getting 50 points every night, but it is that hard work and determination that sets me apart from others.
“To play 100 games for a club like Perth is something I will cherish forever. In the moment it’s not a big thing, but once it is all done, it is something you can look back on and be proud of.
Perth is a club a lot of people want to get to.
I am glad I have been here for 100 games.”
Norton is also proud to have made it to the grand final series, an endgame that at times has appeared so very far away this season.
From lockdowns, to lock outs and a monthlong period struck in Victoria away from family and friends, it has been an NBL season unlike any other.
“Lots of people have sacrificed a lot through this season to get to where we are,” he said. “To be finally here at the pointy end of the season is very rewarding not just for the players, but for the club, officials and families.
“Every club has gone through the pain of being away from home for extended periods, we have all sacrificed something. I am extremely proud of the way the Wildcats have handled it all.
“It has been one hell of a year.”