The Bullets enter tonight with 12 consecutive wins under their belt and will be a formidable force on their home court.

It’s a tough ask for the Dragons but with the playoffs now in sight, it’s a challenge the team is more than ready to accept. South have been considered underdogs all season and will not be daunted by tonight’s clash.

The Bullets go into the game with a 2-0 advantage over the Dragons, but South will stop at nothing to foil Brisbane’s crack at the clean sweep. Sixth place on the Philips Championship ladder remains a possibility for the Dragons and an upset win over Brisbane will go a long way to boosting their shot at a home final.

Dragons playing coach Shane Heal admits tonight’s game is a massive challenge, but says his team’s performance against the Bullets is part of a much larger plan to see the Dragons storm into finals contention.

“It’s a big test for us against Brisbane but whether we win or lose we’re not going to get carried away with it because then we’ve got Perth on the road and New Zealand on the road so we’re doing a lot of kilometres, a lot of Frequent Flyer miles later on this week,” Heal said.

Heal’s stunning return to form against the Razorbacks last week has no doubt sent an ominous warning to the league: Hammer is back. With Heal at his best and Rosell Ellis, Joe Ingles, Kavossy Franklin and Jacob Holmes also looking strong, the Dragons are a serious threat.

Ellis and Holmes will be working overtime tonight to curb the impact of Bullets stars Sam Mackinnon and Dusty Rychart, while three-point specialists Shane Heal and Brad Williamson will shoot it out from both ends of the court. Frank Drmic lines up for his 250th NBL appearance and will be out to impress in his milestone game.

South know the Bullets are a test and must step it up another level if they are to overcome the benchmark team in the league.

“We’ve played the bottom team now and we didn’t play great,” Heal said this week.

“We’re about to go and play against probably the best team in the last four or five years - clearly the best team this season at three or four games clear - and we will have to be ready for that.”

Tonight’s game launches a tough run for the South Dragons, who also face Perth and New Zealand on the road within the week. But if ever there was a team with the passion and drive to stage an upset, it’s the South Dragons.