Last season:
Perth won five of their eight games during BBL05 to see them finish in third position on the table, and set up a semi-final berth with the Melbourne Stars.
Melbourne beat the Scorchers by seven wickets to progress through to the grand final, as Pert had to settle for just a finals appearance.
Ins and Outs:
Ins: Ian Bell, Hilton Cartwright, Mitchell Johnson, Jhye Richardson
Outs: Michael Carberry, Marcus Harris, Brad Hogg, Simon Mackin
Squad: Adam Voges (c), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Ian Bell, Hilton Cartwright, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell Johnson, Michael Klinger, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, James Muirhead, Joel Paris, Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Sam Whiteman, David Willey
Strengths:
It's hard to go past Perth's top order when looking for genuine talent in this side, as the addition of Englishman Ian Bell caps off what is likely to be one of the best batting line-ups in BBL06.
Bell, Adam Voges, Cameron Bancroft, Michael Klinger, Shaun Marsh and brother Mitch Marsh showcase the depth of this side, as there is no shortage of experience and ability in the top order.
Klinger leads the Big Bash League in most runs scored in BBL history with 1274, as Shaun Marsh comes in at fourth on the list with 1127.
Voges also checks in at 12th on the all-time runs list, as this Perth side is more than capable of smashing a massive score each and every night.
Weaknesses:
With Perth's bowling line-up as strong as it is (Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell Johnson, Andrew Tye, Ashton Agar), it's hard to find a real weakness in a side that's been one of the most consistent over the course of the tournament's history.
One problem that could arise for Perth comes in the form of the Australian Test team, who have a three-Test series and ODIs against Pakistan all the way through the competition.
That could have a real impact on the Scorchers' top order, as the Marsh brothers, along with Hilton Cartwright have all been in Australian squads in recent weeks, meaning they may be selected at any stage throughout Perth's season.
Cameron Bancroft and possibly even Adam Voges are waiting on the wings for Test appearances, so if the selectors decided to go with some WA flavour, it could become a big problem for Perth's season.
Key player: Mitchell Johnson
The Australian left-arm paceman may be the most watched player across the entire BBL tournament, such is the excitement of fans that they get to see Mitchell Johnson in the Big Bash League for the first time ever.
A fantastic player over his eight year Test career for Australia, Johnson's impressive form does carry over to Twenty20 cricket, as the 35-year-old has taken 94 wickets from 82 games at 25.10.
Johnson certainly has the ability to turn a match on his head, so Perth will be hoping he can lead from the front all season long.
Prediction: 3rd
Perth have made the finals in all five editions of the tournament and that looks set to continue, as this squad is just too talented to be pushed out of the top four.
At both ends of the line-up they have genuine talent, so Perth certainly have the potential to make it to an unprecedented fifth grand final in six years.
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