THERE'S no such thing as an easier trip to Perth but Friday's clash with Wildcats will hardly be the Hawks toughest trip west in recent seasons.
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The trip they made to the vaunted Perth Arena in the corresponding game last year takes that cake by a fair margin. In fact it might just have been the toughest in the club's history.
At the very least, the match less than 48 hours after a gruelling quadruple-overtime loss to Melbourne United in Wollongong, is in the conversation.
The travel across the country, and across two time zones, certainly took its toll on the court as the Hawks suffered their biggest loss of the season.
Having dropped their home opener to Brisbane last week, the Hawks will again be making the trip west looking to avoid an 0-2 start to the season.
Skipper Todd Blanchfield said that's about where the similarities end, with his side enjoying a four-day preparation this time around.
"To win in Perth's a tough ask as it is, let alone 48 hours after a quadruple overtime game," Blanchfield said.
"It's obviously a bit different this time. We've got to stay on the front foot, we can't let the crowd get too involved.
"They've got guys who are gong to make big plays, we just need to minimise their runs. I think that's probably the biggest thing.
"They've got 16,000 people there and if they hit two or three threes in a row, they get rolling and it's like a sixth man in the floor.
"It's a big ask but we're full of confidence in each other and we're going to go over there and put on a show and come away with the win."
The circumstances may be different, but the equation essentially remains the same as last season.
Read more: What we learned from the Hawks season-opener
A loss in Perth would see them return to Wollongong to host the Taipans staring down the barrel of a disastrous 0-3 start to their campaign.
South East Melburne await on the road a week later, but Blanchfield says his side is hardly back to square one after being edged out by the Bullets last week.
"Obviously when you can come in after a loss and it's your natural tendency to think doom and gloom and look at all the things you did wrong but we actually got a lot out of it," he said.
"We got good shots but I think we shot four of 21 from the three-point line. I don't think that's going to happen very often, I didn't even make a three-pointer on the weekend.
"Yeah we had some negatives, we had a lot of breakdowns we saw on the film, but they're all things we felt we shot ourselves in the foot with.
"We've looked at the film and I actually think we were quite good, we just didn't shoot the ball like we wanted to."
Last week's loss was the first full hit out for what's arguably the most talent-stacked rosters the Hawks have ever boasted, but Blanchfield admits it could take some time to fully click.
"At the end of the day, we're still feeling each other out a little bit," he said.
"Those relationships can take months to fully develop. You're on the practice floor every day but you can never really replicate that game situation, especially in Perth in front of 16,000 people.
"It's tough going over there but we've learned from looking at the film and we've got full confidence in everyone one through 12."