But the Wollongong Hawks hope to ride a wave of emotion to victory in tonight's home meeting with the New Zealand Breakers.

Rather than wallow in self-pity and despondency over the club's demise, the Hawks have vowed to finish on a high note.

"There's definitely some disappointed guys, but watching the way they've picked themselves up and responded at training, I have to believe they're going to be ready to play," Wollongong coach Eric Cooks said.

"We've got three games to go and it makes no sense to throw in the towel and not play hard."

While the players don't know what the future holds and whether they will have jobs in the 2009-10 competition, Cooks and Hawks assistant coaches Kevin Brooks and Matt Flinn will also be on the lookout for employment.

"There's some options there for me but it's really only speculation at the moment," Cooks said.

"I'd love to stay in basketball, but with all the uncertainty with the new league, it's hard to say what will happen. Obviously I'll have to find something because I have a family to feed."

The Hawks will again be without injured centre Larry Davidson, while the Breakers suffered a major blow yesterday with star guard Kirk Penney ruled out.

Cooks said his side would have to keep close tabs on experienced playmaker CJ Bruton (pictured).

"With or without Penney, we still have to approach it like we're playing the second or third best team in the league," he said.

"They've got CJ back now, and he didn't play when we beat them last time. We all know what he can do and I'm sure he'll be looking to pick up the slack in Penney's absence.

"New Zealand might not be in the same form they were in earlier in the season, but they're striving for the play-offs and we're expecting a dogfight."

The Hawks are 1-1 with the Breakers in 2008-09, losing in New Zealand before squaring the ledger with a convincing 17-point win on January 2 in Wollongong.

"We played really committed defence the last time and shot the ball at a fairly high percentage," Cooks said. "It all starts at the defensive end for us and that's where we need to be switched on against these guys because they've got plenty of shooters."