The Wildcats will be looking to extend the advantage to 15 when they host the Kings on Friday night, despite dropping a recent pre-season trial to the Sydneysiders in Ipswich. The men in purple and gold haven't beaten Perth since they were readmitted into the NBL in 2010 and haven't sung the team song after a Wildcats clash since the 2008 semi-final series. No man has been on the wrong end of the ledger more often than Ben Madgen, who has never conquered the Wildcats in all of his time in the Harbour City.

"We've had some close games, some not-so-close games," Madgen said. "We haven't been able to beat them in a regular-season game for a few years. Hopefully we can change that on Friday. We've got a new group this year, we've only got four guys remaining. I'm the only player from the first year left. I don't think those records really play on the minds of anyone, we haven't talked about it at all. All we are focusing on is that we beat them in the preseason this year, we'll take a lot of confidence out of that. Every game, we're thinking we're going to win."

The Kings have had a mixed start to the year under new coach Damian Cotter, beating Wollongong in their opening game before blowing a nine-point advantage at home against Townsville last Friday. The defending NBL champions are also 1-1 after they too defeated the Hawks in their last start.

"We're not focusing on the past but we know it's a hard place to play, they've been the benchmark for the past four or five years," Madgen said. "It would be a huge win if we could get up over there. They're a great club, they've done a lot of great things over there with their crowds and being able to pack out their convention centre. When you're playing in another team's hostile environment you want to quieten it and that's what you're trying to do."

Should the Kings finally prevail, it will be their first win in Western Australia since February 2, 2008, at Challenge Stadium. "We know if we want to win a championship we've got to get through the top teams and Perth will definitely be up there," Madgen said. "If we can get over them early in the season it will give us some confidence for the rest of the year. It was just nice to know we could beat them [in pre-season]. Both teams were a little undermanned and it will be definitely a more intense game in the regular season. It's more about building up wins and giving us confidence we can beat any team."

The Perth clash is one of three consecutive road games for the Kings, who then face Cairns and Wollongong away before returning home against Adelaide. "Being on the road together gives you a chance to build that chemistry and team bond," the Kings co-captain said. "It can be an advantage if we can get a couple of wins in this tough stretch."