Nick Kay’s Wildcats will attempt to reverse a poor run when they meet the Taipans in Cairns on New Year’s Eve, with Perth coach Trevor Gleeson saying his side needs to rediscover their “killer instinct”.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
![UNDER THE PUMP: Nick Kay and his Wildcats take on the Taipans in Cairns on New Year's Eve, looking to snap a four-game losing sequence. AAP Image/Albert Perez UNDER THE PUMP: Nick Kay and his Wildcats take on the Taipans in Cairns on New Year's Eve, looking to snap a four-game losing sequence. AAP Image/Albert Perez](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/KUhQizDbwW8WqAyPP4x5yp/a0471f63-dc23-47af-b266-6f86b8025a54.JPG/r0_0_2000_3000_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Perth, the one-time competition leaders, have slumped to four straight losses, and have ceded top spot on the table to Sydney.
Despite the lean patch – consisting of losses to the Kings, United, the Bullets and the Hawks – Kay, a Tamworth product, has generally continued his good form since joining Perth from Illawarra this season.
However in the 81-77 away loss to the Hawks on December 23, he had nine points, five rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes of court time – compared to season averages of 15.5, 8.8 and three.
READ ALSO:
Gleeson said: “We’ve got to get back to where we were pre-FIBA break. Our record hasn’t been that good since then.
“We’ve been in great positions to win games, and we haven’t had that killer instinct – and hopefully we’ll develop that soon.”
For now, Gleeson is sticking by his roster. But he said Perth needed to return to playing “40 minutes of full court, hard stuff – Wildcats basketball”.
The side had “got away from that a little bit”, he said.