Shane Heal won't be spared in his return to competitive basketball on Saturday night, with the former Boomers star set to start and play as many minutes as possible in the South Dragons' NBL home debut.

Heal missed the Dragons' opening two NBL matches because of a back injury, which delayed his comeback from a two-year retirement.

But the 36-year-old declared himself a certain starter for the new Victorian franchise's first home match against Wollongong at Vodafone Arena.

Heal admits he is still feeling discomfort with the injury - a problem with two of his lumbar vertebrae.

But Dragons coach Mark Price said he would attempt to play his skipper from the start - and for as long as possible.

"We'll get him loosened up, see how he goes and how long he can go," Price said.

"He's obviously is going to be a boost to the team just to have him out on the court.

"All we can do is approach the game the way we would normally and see how he goes."

Heal admits he has been frustrated and shattered by his body letting him down ahead of his comeback.

But he is confident he can produce the goods running the floor in his first top-level match since the Athens Olympics.

"I've trained since Tuesday and it's a bit stiff from the training, but I had an MRI scan during the week and they found a small tear in the lining over the disc, so that's what has made the (healing) so much longer than with a normal jammed back," Heal said.

"Playing limited minutes probably wouldn't be better because you warm up, you cool down, it makes it harder.

"I'm feeling good and I'm just going to give it a real crack tomorrow night."

The Dragons, who are 0-2 despite competitive performances without Heal, appear unlikely to fill the 10,000-seat Vodafone Arena on the night.

They haven't been helped by a strange scheduling clash which pits them head-to-head against crosstown rival Melbourne Tigers' home game at the same time.

The Dragons are expecting a crowd of around 6,000.

The Tigers seem set to attract around 3,000 to their 3,500 capacity State Netball Centre home court to play Singapore Slingers, where they will unfurl their championship banner from last season.

© 2006 AAP