Perth Wildcats coach Trevor Gleeson has thrown the first punch in the upcoming semi-final battle against Brisbane, declaring part of the Bullets’ success is based on illegal tactics.

The Wildcats finished on top of the ladder and will host Brisbane in the first of a best-of-three series at RAC Arena on Thursday. The two clubs split their clashes during the regular season 2-2 and Gleeson said he’d noticed a concerning trend with how the Bullets play.

“They’re very physical. They set a lot of illegal screens on the ball that we’re going to have to navigate through,” Gleeson said.

“I think (it’s) illegal but it’s not illegal until the umpire calls it. That’s what we’ve got to work at practice for.”

Gleeson said he wouldn’t be contacting the NBL referees’ department to discuss his concerns. He said it was more important to prepare the players for what they would confront next week.

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He anticipated the referees would put their whistles away and encourage physicality.

“We know in finals the referees normally put the whistles in their pockets,” he said.

“That’s the way every other sport does it, so we’re OK with it. It’s going to be a physical game.

“Normally it’s a low scoring, physical game in play-offs. That’s just the way it is. The game slows down a little bit and we’ve just got to make sure we’re on-point defending it.”

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Injured guard Mitch Norton (calf) appears unlikely to be available for the opening game but Gleeson said Terrico White (wrist) and Greg Hire (shoulder) were progressing well.

White re-injured his left wrist diving for a ball while Hire damaged his shoulder in a collision with Adelaide’s Harry Froling in the final round of the regular season.

Gleeson said having a week off between the regular season and finals had helped the Wildcats.

“I think we needed the break because we’re a bit banged up,” Gleeson said.

“We weren’t really healthy going into the last game of the season. It’s really good for us.”