Cats brace for “flagship” test

The last time both Perth and Melbourne hit the NBL hardwood, they played a thriller against one another at John Cain Arena.

On that occasion, competition front-runners United won by 11 points.

Now 11 days later, the fierce rivals face off once again, this time at RAC Arena on Thursday night.

While Perth sits comfortably in fourth with an 8-6 record, John Rillie knows what a win against the NBL's "flagship program" would do for his side.

"I look forward to the opportunity. We played them at their place. Now, we are at RAC (Arena), so let’s see what we’ve done over the last couple of weeks to see if we’re inching towards being one of the upper echelon teams," Rillie said to The West Australian.

"They’re the flagship program right now. They are the deserving number one team right now. Any time you get a chance to play them, you really get to see where you’re at.

"In our last performance over there, you could see we were just not at that level. We flirted and teased a little bit with it, but we’re just not there consistently enough."

The blockbuster is the second game of the NBL's Thursday night double-header, tipping off at 9.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.

Read the full story here >> Wildcats coach John Rillie ready to prove they’ve learnt lessons from last Melbourne United loss