KEITH Horwood always put a self-imposed three-year timeline on his return to the Perth Redbacks and now in his third season he is confident he has a team capable of making a statement in the Women's SBL.

Horwood returned to the Redbacks after more than a decade-long absence back in 2015 given the challenge of getting the team back to being a force in the Women's SBL again.

His job was a significant one taking over a team that was remarkably young and won just two games in 2014.

No excuses for Redbacks women heading into 2017 

But he has overseen good growth the past two years firstly with five wins and a 10th place in 2015. Then last year the Redbacks returned to the finals winning 10 games before falling short against the Rockingham Flames in the quarter finals.

That trajectory appears to be continuing the upward trend for the Redbacks too. Horwood certainly hopes so given no matter what, it will be his last season at the helm.

For the first time, the Redbacks have added an import with the signing of Emilee Harmon to a group including Lisa Wallbutton, Ajay Jones, Rebecca Benson, Bianca Donovan, Jess Jakens and some impressive youngsters.

They might have started with a road loss in Rockingham, but there is reason for great excitement surrounding the Redbacks women coming into 2017.

Looking back to accepting a return to coaching the club where he was Women's SBL Coach of the Year back in 2002, Horwood wanted to help the Redbacks get back on track and be a force in the competition again.

After two years, he is confident their time is right this season to be genuine title contenders. It would provide the perfect send off to him in his final season in charge.

"When the club rang me to come back, I'd had 10 years off at that stage and for me it was only ever going to be a three-year plan. This is going to be my last year so it's either now or never for me," Horwood said.

"We've put together a group where if we are going to ever get to the big dance, it will be this year. I've made no secret that this is my last season. My assistant coaches Timmy Rendulic and Michelle Fletcher have been with me and I brought them on with an eye to taking over after this year.

"I wanted to find some people who could proceed me knowing full well this was a three-year journey for me and that's all I was going to do. I was hoping in three years that I could take the team from the bottom to the top and that's still my aim, and then I would hand it over to someone else.

"The club has got behind me to help us find what we needed to succeed so my plans are now to fade away at the end of the year and hopefully Timmy and Michelle can move on with these girls."

Considering where the Redbacks women were placed when Horwood arrived to make his return, he couldn’t be more proud of the progress made and with the way they are positioned moving forward.

"I couldn’t be happier with the way the women's program is placed at the moment," he said.

"We also won the D-League championship last year and the under-18s made finals, so the whole women's program is going well and it's always about the whole picture, not just the SBL team.

"The club again this year is going to be one where all three grades should make finals and be successful. I will be disappointed if that didn’t happen."

When he looks back on his initial stint with the Redbacks, Horwood has nothing but pride about the group he was in charge of including Martine Pearman, Narelle Henry, Helen Vlahov and Brooke Hiddlestone.

With those fond memories, that's why he wanted to help bring some success back to the program even if he hadn't had much direct involvement in basketball since.

"I coached 10 years ago and we had some quality people including Martine, Narelle, Helen Vlahov and Brooke Hiddlestone just to mention a few. We had quite a talented team back then and I felt we underachieved for whatever reason," he said.

"But when the club gave me a call a couple of years ago I hadn’t been involved in basketball for 10 years but my son was involved as an assistant with the men. I just felt it was the right time to come back and give something back."

Horwood is impressed with the overall standard of the Women's SBL now in 2017. He also has no doubt that the influx of more imports arriving, including Harmon, will only help the locals get better and do so quicker by having to raise their standards accordingly.

"When I coached previously, the league was awesome and there were some great people around like Melissa McClure and the like," Horwood said.

"I think it took a bit of a slump, but it's back on track now with some quality players coming through and that's shown with just about every team now having at least one import, and a lot have two. That's the making of the league and that's the way everyone gets better by bringing quality players in.

"That's no disrespect to our locals, but the nature of the beast is that if you can bring in those quality players they make everyone they play with and against better.

"They bring something over that rubs off on everybody and it's the same when our young girls go over to college. When they leave they are semi-professional basketballers and when they come back they have a professionalism about them with the way they train, play and carry themselves."

Photo by Serene-Elise Photography