No replacement, no regrets for Perth

Even if the style is not always eye-catching, coach John Rillie is pleased with the winning habits the Perth Wildcats are building. That belief in their process, and in their playing group, is why the club chose not to sign an injury replacement.

With emerging point guard Jaron Rillie likely sidelined for the rest of the season following hamstring surgery, and import guard David Duke Jr racing the clock to return from an elbow injury, attention quickly turned to what move the Wildcats might make next.

Instead, the decision was to back in the current group. For Rillie, that meant staying true to his message of rewarding players who continue to put in the work and remain ready for their opportunity.

That faith paid off on Friday night at HoopsFest, with the Wildcats grinding out a crucial 92 to 87 win over the Illawarra Hawks. The victory was their fourth straight, lifting them to a 15 and 10 record and leaving them only percentage behind fourth placed Melbourne United.

It is the habits being built behind the scenes that give Rillie confidence in his group, even in tight and uncomfortable moments.

"Winning is boring and we've embraced being boring with our habits every day," Rillie said.

"So then you get rewarded in close games and you have to go through that sometimes, and you have to be OK growing in those moments and in the moment when you lose those games, it's tough.

"But if you grow and we're doing that, progress and that gives you a chance at the end of the day even it absolutely isn't fool proof."

Rillie, along with owner Mark Arena and general manager of basketball Danny Mills, were fully aware they could be judged by the decision not to sign a new import.

For Rillie, if his coaching was going to be assessed on one call, he was clear about which decision he wanted to stand behind. He would rather be judged for backing in the playing group he has built trust and belief in, rather than turning to an external solution.

"So I prepare myself to get hammered if it's a negative result, but when I sit at Scarborough and watch the sunset, I think that if we win I look like a genius and if you lose we take, it but are we about this one game or about how we can have success at the end of the season?" Rillie said.

"And for me, if we're going to have success these are the guys that we're rolling with and they have the scar tissue, they have the feel of what this group has gone through, because every team goes through something at some stage.

"How you come out of that you take great pride in all of that so let's roll with it and it's hard to win a championship, so you need a lot of things to go right, but this team has great synergy.

"Do we win? I don't know, but let's roll with it and see what happens."