When: Sunday, February 26, 4pm (local), Challenge Stadium, Perth

Radio: 91.3 SportFM

Last time they met: Cairns 75 (Wilson 24, Loughton 11) d Perth 67 (Lisch 16, Knight 13, Nevill 12, Wagstaff 12), Round 19, 2011/12, Cairns Convention Centre

Clangers
Last season Perth’s wayward shooting cost them dearly and after a hot start to 2011/12 the Wildcats’ radar has again gone askew.

In their first 15 games they hit an impressive 46 per cent from the field and 36 per cent from deep. In the seven games since those numbers have dropped to 41 and 28.

When Cairns win they restrict opponents to just 40 per cent from the field, but in their 10 losses have allowed 45 per cent shooting, suggesting the Wildcats will need their shooting boots on.

Coach Rob Beveridge believes the Wildcats shooting woes mean they are not yet championship calibre, but with his team leading the league in scoring said they “must be doing something OK somewhere else”.

Shoot it!
That something else is their outstanding offensive rebounding and pressure defence, which give them multiple extra possessions.

But Beveridge is keen for his team to shoot themselves out of their recent slump, rather than become tentative as they have in recent games.

“It is amazing what happens on the training court versus what happens when the lights come on,” he said.

“The players work their butts off and shoot the ball really well in practice.

“I will continue to back our players to shoot the ball as I feel we are not very far off really putting it together both offensively and defensively.”

When they travelled to Cairns in Round 19, the Wildcats’ defence had a rare off-night, as the Taipans executed superbly in the halfcourt and nailed 46 per cent from the field.

Out-done
Beveridge said his team was “out-rebounded, out-worked and out-played for the majority of the game” as they fell 76-67.

Chief destroyer was Taipans superstar Jamar Wilson, who dominated with 24 points, four rebounds, four assists, and drew seven fouls.

Wilson was also a thorn in the Wildcats’ side in their Round 6 clash and Beveridge believes his team needs to lift their intensity against the world-class 28-year-old.

Beveridge admits Wilson has “got the better” of his team’s revered defence through both his scoring and his intelligent tempo control.

“Our players are still disappointed with our performance,” he said.

“Even though we will be playing with some fatigue I am confident our players will be totally committed to playing hard, but hopefully a lot smarter than we did in Cairns.”

The wrap
That fatigue will come from Friday’s road game against traditional rivals Adelaide.

Beveridge is well aware of the need to manage weary bodies upon return to Perth on Saturday, understanding his team must be ready to run against the Taipans.

“We definitely don’t want to get into a halfcourt grind with Cairns as that is what they are best at,” he said.

Perth guard Damian Martin labelled his Round 19 effort in Cairns as one of the worst in his career, so expect him and Brad Robbins to be on a mission to disrupt Wilson.

The Taipans scored just 49 and 43 points in the two games their point guard didn’t reach double figures, and four of their five lowest-scoring games came on the rare occasions Wilson shot below 40 per cent.

With revenge on the Wildcats’ minds and another sell-out crowd behind them, it will take a masterful halfcourt display from Wilson and Cairns to claim an upset win.

Prediction: Wildcats by 10