Burston, who was sidelined following reconstructive surgery to his right ankle this off-season, will be eased into training, with coaching staff cautious to increase his workload too suddenly.

“Personally I’ve pushed myself to be ready for game one, but the reality is I’ll be in better shape for our October/November games,” said Burston.

It will be a gradual process of comeback for Burston, who will begin with twenty minutes of scrimmage this Thursday, court time that will increase dependent on how his ankle recovers.

“In the weight room I’m really working quite hard, and I’ve done a lot of work in the pool and on the bike,” added Burston.

“But nothing compares to on court conditioning and I’ve got none of that at the moment so I have to be aware of that.”

Burston had 17 points and nine rebounds in just 25 minutes of game time in his last outing with the Perth Wildcats, when the Wildcats pushed the Tigers 106-101 in February last season.

In the ’Cats quarter-final win over the Wollongong Hawks, Burston put up 16 points and hauled in eight boards in only 21 minutes as the ‘Cats pushed past the Hawks 121-101.

Matt's best season statistically came in 2004, when he played 33 games and averaged nine rebounds, 14 points and 1.6 steals per game.

The South Dragons will tonight face the Big V All-Stars at Dandenong Basketball Stadium and on Friday will head to Shepparton for game two of the series.