How to watch & talking points: Perth v Illawarra

16 Jan 2026

perth wildcats

illawarra hawks

hoopsfest

The Perth Wildcats host reigning champions Illawarra in a Friday night blockbuster at HoopsFest.

Perth Wildcats (5th) v Illawarra Hawks (8th)
Friday, January 15, 9.30pm AEDT (6.30pm AWST)
RAC Arena

How to watch‍

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Tickets

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Talking points

Home woes
The Perth Wildcats are making a charge up the standings and they’ve done that by winning 10 of 14 games on the road.

Unfortunately, John Rillie’s team is struggling to get wins at home, having won just four of 10 games at RAC Arena and it’s slowly becoming a concerning stat.

The Wildcats welcome in a motivated Hawks team who have their season on the line and if they can take care of business on Friday night, they put themselves in a favourable position with just a few rounds left.

Last chance hoorah
Since the Illawarra Hawks have become healthy, they’ve flashed some brilliant performances and teased fans with the look of a team that can fight their way to a Play-In position.

However, that level of play has not been consistent enough and a disappointing loss to New Zealand on Sunday was met with some tough comments from Justin Tatum in the press conference.

If this Hawks team comes in with the motivation Tatum is demanding, they’re more than capable of winning this game and staying in the hunt.

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What they're saying

Wildcats forward Kristian Doolittle on stepping up for injured duo David Duke Jr and Jaron Rillie:
“I feel like it’s going to take a lot of us.

“It will require more from everybody to overcome what we’re missing. At the end of the day, everyone is going to deal with injuries.

"Everyone is going to have situations that are not ideal for them. The testament of a good team is overcoming those things.”

Hawks wing Daniel Grida on the importance of the next two road games against Perth and Tasmania:
"These games are essentially a double win; we get a win, and they get a loss, so those games really help us. There are some really important ones coming up.

"We're treating every game the same. We've gotta win every game and then let the results do what they do, with the other teams winning or losing games.

"We're trying to control what we can control and just win as many games as we can."

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