Holding down seventh spot with a 3-4 win-loss record, the Hawks will carry the favourites tag into the game, with the last-placed Blaze (0-7) still searching for their first win.

Wollongong coach Eric Cooks will go head-to-head with former Hawks coach Brendan Joyce, while notorious Hawks villain Shane Heal will be keen to add another chapter to his history of tormenting Wollongong fans.

The Blaze scorched the Hawks by 33 in last season's stoush at WIN Entertainment Centre and Cooks has his side on red alert for another ambush.

"If a team continues to work hard and do what Gold Coast have been doing, they're going to get a win, but we certainly don't want it to be us," he said.

"We know it will be a dogfight because they're going to come in desperate to get that first win.

"The week's been real good. The guys have trained hard and are really focused. Everything's been real sharp and we realise we're in for a tough battle."

The Hawks will be at full strength, but the visitors are almost certainly going to have to cope without import Jauquin Hawkins.

"If we can pressure them and wear them down, they are relying on people like Shane Heal to play a lot of minutes, and if we can get into him that should help our cause," Cooks said.

"Our guards are playing well and they're capable of harrassing him quite a bit and making it hard for him. We're probably looking at Kavossy (Franklin) to start on Heal and Mat (Campbell) will take (James) Harvey." Cooks said last season's 33-point drubbing would not be his team's primary source of motivation tonight.

"It has been mentioned, but there's not a whole lot of emphasis on it and it's definitely not a grudge match," he said.

"This is a new season and we've got different personnel.

"We weren't playing well at that time last year and didn't play the style of ball we wanted to play."

The Hawks back up on the road against Sydney on Sunday.

"We won't look too far ahead," Cooks said.

"The first game is the end-all and be-all, and if we can get that one it'll add to our confidence going into Sunday."