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NBL: Perth Wildcats with task ahead against Melbourne United

Greg HireJoondalup Times

Our backs were against the wall against a pretty hot team in the Hawks and we won despite being down on personnel.

While the loss to the Crocodiles remains strong in our minds, it was terrific to get that win on the road against Illawarra in the hostile environment of the Wollongong Entertainment Centre.

I was unhappy with my performance on Friday, so it was good to contribute to the win on Sunday.

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I landed a couple of outside shots and got among the rebounds, which is exactly what is required of me in my role off the bench.

In previous years, I’ve played more of an inside role, but this season I’m out on the wings.

The impact guys such as Matt Knight, Nate Jawai and Tom Jervis have inside means they draw a double team, which leaves players like myself and Jarrod Kenny open for attempts outside.

We need to hit those shots, otherwise teams will limit our scoring by targeting our big players.

We’re hoping to see Damian Martin and Casey Prather back for a huge challenge against Melbourne United in Melbourne tonight.

I expect Damo will be on limited minutes and we won’t know until later today whether Casey will be fit.

Melbourne are highly talented with a phenomenal starting five, which is reflected in their five straight wins to start the season.

For us, it’s going to be about restricting the outside scoring opportunities of their fantastic shooters Todd Blanchfield, Chris Goulding, Stephen Holt and Daniel Kickert.

We’ll need to play the way we did in our best moments against Illawarra.