Last night's 112-78 shellacking from the South Dragons highlighted in excruciating detail how much the Hawks have to improve before they can challenge for a top-six berth.

"Needless to say it's very disappointing. It just shows how far away we are," Cooks said.

"That's the best team we've played, and if we expect to be a play-off team, we have to be more disciplined and not panic."

The Dragons wasted no time asserting their authority, bolting to a 10-0 lead as Hawks' shoulders slumped.

Cooks said his team's body language was bad from the get-go and contributed to the lop-sided rout.

"We lost belief early and it definitely added to the carnage," he said. "They turned up the tempo and we went into a shell."

Cooks warned his side could be in for a similar trouncing if they don't toughen up for Saturday's clash with the Dragons in Melbourne.

"In some ways it's good that we get an opportunity to redeem ourselves, especially after being embarrassed like that, but if we don't go there with the right mindset it could happen again," he said. "We train harder and more physically than we played tonight."

The Dragons' win represented the 500th career victory for Dragons coach Brian Goorjian.

"We saw this as a key game ... and my guys were superb tonight," Goorjian said.