Perth Wildcats co-captain Shawn Redhage is confident that the 'Cats can continue their strong road form this season on Friday night in Cairns and he feels a big part of the strong performances away from home this season is down to the familiarity they now all have with one another.
Click here to listen to Shawn Redhage speaking to the media before training on Tuesday
The Wildcats have compiled a terrific 7-4 road record already this season following wins over Adelaide, Townsville, Cairns, Wollongong, the Hawks again, the Crocs again and Sydney.
That certainly gives them plenty of confidence heading up to far north Queensland for the final time this season having beaten Townsville twice and Cairns once.
While the Taipans have one of the best home court advantages in the league and that was a big reason why they made last season's grand final and pushed New Zealand to three games, Redhage is confident the Wildcats now thrive on playing on the road and will go in confident.
"Cairns is one of the toughest places to play in the league so we know that from experience it's going to take a great effort to get a win there. They are playing pretty desperate and are trying to stay in that top-four mix, they are just out at the moment," Redhage said.
"They are going to be taking this as a playoff game just as New Zealand was last game. Hopefully that New Zealand game has prepared us because we know that we can't drop too many games and still hope to finish top spot. These games are crucial and we need to get this one. This could be one of the toughest games that we have towards the end of the year."
Cairns will certainly be tough opposition on Friday night though. The Taipans have won five of their last seven games to improve to an 11-9 record to be locked in a battle with Townsville and Gold Coast for third and fourth spot on the ladder so Redhage knows they will be fired up.
"It's tough to get wins on the road, but we have become a lot better road team this year. In saying that, Cairns is a different team at home and they play at a different level, and with a lot more confidence," he said.
"They have some talented players and when they are playing with confidence, and feeling confident, they are a tough team to beat. Cairns and Townsville really have a great home court advantage up there and over the years of playing in the NBL it has always been tough to get wins there."
Increasingly since Rob Beveridge has taken over as Wildcats' coach the record on the road has improved and Redhage has no doubt a large part of that is because of the group being together now for the most part for several seasons.
Redhage and fellow co-captain Brad Robbins are in their sixth season together with Kevin Lisch, Jesse Wagstaff, Drew Williamson and Damian Martin in their third, and Greg Hire, Matt Knight, Cam Tovey and Jeremiah Trueman their second.
That familiarity, according to Redhage, plays a big role in being able to perform well on the road.
"I think it's just about being together. Having the same group together for three years means that we know what we have to do when we go on the road," he said.
"There's just a bit more of a confidence about us when we go on the road. Those things probably have a lot to do with it rather than Xs and Os, or any one thing. Having the same group together really makes you road tested and road battled."
As for last Thursday's six-point loss in Auckland to New Zealand, Redhage actually feels there was plenty of positives for the 'Cats to take out of it considering the period they had in the third quarter of not scoring for 16 straight possessions and coughing up a 17-0 run and still end up getting so close.
"I think our feeling was that we were encouraged by the fact that we had a lot of areas to improve on and yet we were right there with only six points the difference," Redhage said.
"It's encouraging that we have eight games to go, a lot of room for improvement and we know that we can go to New Zealand and get a win if we play at our best. They are a great team, though, and it will take a great effort and great concentration for us to get it done."
After the trip to New Zealand last week, the Wildcats had the weekend off before some solid training sessions on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and Redhage feels the preparation has been good ahead of the trip to Cairns.
"We had a couple of days off over the weekend after travelling a long way. We got up at 4am on Friday to fly back to Perth, but we are getting used to it," Redhage said.
"When you live in Perth that's just part of the deal, you've got to travel and go long distances and usually one flight doesn’t get to where you are going in this league.
"It's something that we have to deal with and I think the guys have learned to figure it out. We were a new group three years ago, but we have now been doing it for a few years so we understand what we have to do."
