“No friends”: United prepares for fiery Throwdown

Melbourne United have drawn their battle lines ahead of what promises to be an explosive Throwdown against the South East Melbourne Phoenix tomorrow night.

After an intense outing between the crosstown rivals in December, which resulted in a scuffle after Mitch Creek’s massive dunk over Matthew Dellavedova, United coach Dean Vickerman says his team is primed for the rematch.

“There were a lot of things happening in that game. Some of the outcomes of those - with the court announcer, with Mason (Peatling), and how it was all dealt with - we didn’t really like. But that is not the chip on our shoulder right now,” Vickerman said.

“We are one down in the Throwdown, we play them four times, on our home court, you don’t want to lose to anyone on your home court twice, so there is good motivation there.

“We love it and there is nothing more than I would enjoy than playing them in the Grand Final. I want that club to be successful.

“We're friends as head coaches, but when we go into a Throwdown, there's no friends. We go out and compete to win and do whatever we can.”

Melbourne captain Chris Goulding echoed Vickerman’s thoughts.

“I don’t know if we are having team dinners. We are not friendly with any team in the league,” Goulding said.

As for Dellavedova, who was at the centre of the controversial match-up earlier this season, he is looking forward to the high stakes rematch.

“I'm not concerned (about what happened last time). It’s crosstown rivals, competitive game early in the season. And, you know, there's a lot at stake,” Dellavedova said.

“We play them three more times. All of them are going to be big games. We both are fighting for a good spot on the ladder. There's a lot at stake.

“It’s going to be competitive. It's going to be physical, and I think both teams will be looking forward to that.”

United and Phoenix clash tomorrow night at 7:30pm AEDT.

Tickets are still available via Ticketek.

The game will be broadcast live on ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel.