Leading Illawarra to an NBL championship.

The guard has emerged as a genuine superstar in his first season with the Hawks, playing a key role in the side's run to the playoffs.

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With the semi-finals commencing against the Wildcats in Perth on Thursday night, Harvey is determined to ensure the series starts in winning fashion.

"That's what I came here for, to win games," Harvey said. "That's what Goorj is all about too, he's instilled that in us from day one.

"It's going to be a tough game in Perth. The environment there is great, what better playoff atmosphere than that, so we're very excited."

Harvey leads his team in scoring with 20 points a game and has been compared to three-time MVP Bryce Cotton. Illawarra coach Brian Goorjian last week labeled the 27-year-old the Hawks' version of the Perth star.

Cotton won't be present throughout the series, having suffered a season-ending leg injury last month, opening the door for Harvey to take centre stage.

Thursday's clash will be followed by game two in Wollongong on Saturday and a potential decider in Perth on Monday. Should they triumph, the Hawks will take on the winner of the Melbourne United and South-East Melbourne series being played in Sydney.

While Goorjian knows only a team performance will be enough to defeat the Wildcats, the master mentor has backed Harvey to lead his side past their long-time adversaries.

"He's our leader and it's an honour and I'm glad his name is in that ilk because we feel like he has done that for our group," Goorjian said.

"The guy's made everybody on our team better. He's taken a franchise that was down here to the top three and he's a guy we're going to play off."

Illawarra fans hold nightmares of trips to Perth in recent years, the Wildcats bundling the Hawks out of the 2017 semi-finals before sweeping the side in the 2018 finals.

The Hawks have also won just one from their past 35 games in Perth, a sole victory coming in 2016.

Illawarra lost their first three games to the Wildcats this year before Harvey scored 27 points in a stunning 81-79 victory at the WIN Entertainment Centre last Tuesday.

With this year's 'duck' broken, Harvey is confident another drought will end on Thursday night.

''I don't want to hear about the past," Harvey said. "Every season's a unique season, you can't really look back at the past. It's a whole different team, we've got a whole different feel.

"You have to be confident going over there and, if you're not, you shouldn't be getting on the plane. We're going to give it a good run.

"We know it's not going to be an easy game, we just want to go out there, go over our prep and go after things."

It's a sentiment Goorjian shares, the coach confident this team won't be scarred by past results.

"They've been the best team in the competition and legendary over a 10-15 year period," Goorjian said.

"But the past and the accomplishments and down times at [the Hawks] has nothing to do with this group. And this Perth team has nothing to do with whatever took place before."