Preview: NBL26 R21 Away v Perth Wildcats

The Brisbane Bullets will be looking to repeat the dose from earlier this season at RAC Arena when they scored a stirring win over the Perth Wildcats in their penultimate game of NBL26 with Tyrell Harrison set to return.

The Bullets will be boosted with the return of Harrison on Friday night when they take on the fourth placed Wildcats at RAC Arena with tip-off set for 8:30pm Queensland time in what is Brisbane's second last game of the 2025/26 season.

The Bullets are now undertaking their last road trip of the season too ahead of hosting the Sydney Kings on Friday night at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, and there are fond memories of last time they played the Wildcats at RAC Arena.

It was back on October 15 and despite having lost their previous four games included just a few days earlier by 27 points to the Illawarra Hawks, the Bullets produced a standout performance to win 110-93.

Harrison starred on that night too with 27 points, 15 rebounds and three assists. It might be a bit much to expect those numbers again in his first game since New Year's Day through concussion symptoms, but he will be a welcome return for the Bullets.

The big man can't wait to get out there.

"It feels good to be back playing basketball again and it kinda feels a bit weird just because of the uncertainty I had with my concussion," Harrison said.

"We put a timeline on it when I first had the head knock and then we didn’t meet that, and then it turned into day by day after that, and I was just trying to stay positive through it all and keep doing my rehab and the things I could to try and get back on the court.

"Now I just can't wait to be back out there with the boys and it hasn’t been the most ideal season for us, but I'm happy to be back out there to play basketball with them again."

Harrison also has good memories of that last win against the Wildcats at RAC Arena so is hoping they can repeat the dose on Friday night.

"Once I got cleared, all those memories came flooding back in of that win we had last time in Perth against them but my mentality going into this game is just trying to do what I do good at," Harrison said.

"The time that I do have on the court I just will try to impact winning the best as I can and keep on being a leader on the court and hopefully that's good enough to help the team."

Brisbane come into the game while locked into bottom place, having had an encouraging last up showing on Sunday at home to the Cairns Taipans despite the eventual nine-point defeat.

The Bullets did plenty right against the Snakes pulling down 25 offensive rebounds and taking an extra 25 field goal attempts, but it was again the shooting that was the problem going 36 per cent from the field and 3/24 from deep.

Over the season the Bullets are shooting a league low 27.5 per cent from three but over the last five games since they went 12/38 against the Sydney Kings, it's dropped to 28/138 at 20 per cent.

Coach Darryl McDonald liked the improved effort against Cairns and now he knows if the Bullets can just shoot better, there's no reason they can't beat Perth in Perth for a second time of NBL26.

"We just want to be competitive, hit shots and give ourselves a chance and we have to put some scoreboard pressure on them, and it's funny because we've beaten them there already," McDonald said.

"They haven't played great at home either and they've lost a few early ones and close ones so if we put some pressure on them we can see what happens.

"Definitely having Tyrell helps going in there and it's going to be the same routine, we'll focus on having a good week and jump on a plane on Thursday, and have a shootaround on Friday, and just see what happens man.

"We go into the game wanting to compete and hit shots, and put pressure on them to give ourselves an opportunity to win. Even to this day with the roster we have, I've never gone into a game thinking we're going to lose and this one is no different."

Meanwhile, Bullets power forward Terry Taylor is fresh off 25 points and nine rebounds against the Taipans back on Sunday, and is looking forward to another challenge and is fully confident Brisbane can avoid a 12th straight defeat.

"We've played well against Perth the last few times so we're not afraid of that match up and we're going to be ready to go," Taylor said.

"As a competitor, you always want to test who you are as a man and as a player against the other team's best player so I'm always willing to do that.

"It's going to be the same come Perth with Doolittle and I'm going to do the same thing, I'm going to guard him and he's going to guard me, and we're going to see who's the better man out of that."

GAME INFO

Who: Brisbane Bullets vs Perth Wildcats

Tip off: 8:30pm (AEST), Friday 13 February, 2026

Where: RAC Arena, Perth

Watch: ESPN via Foxtel, Disney+, Kayo and Fetch