If the third quarter is truly when games are won and lost, the Wollongong Hawks don't have to look too far to see where they've gone wrong.

Of their first six games, the Hawks outscored their opponents just once in the third period, but even that 12-10 effort against Perth still ended in a 10-point loss.

The combined tally in the third quarters of the other five games is 121-76 against the Hawks.

Their most glaring meltdown occurred in last Thursday's 21-point road loss to Adelaide.

Wollongong were down by just three at half-time and didn't score in the third quarter until the 36ers had already run off 20 points.

"Once we hit the third quarter they completely controlled the tempo, not only with their offence but also through their defence," Hawks forward Oscar Forman said.

"There were some frustrating things like our shots not dropping and it might've affected our confidence a bit. I missed a lay-up, other guys missed lay-ups and little tip-ins. You could see the frustration build. The pressure just mounted on us, especially in that 20-0 run they had in the third quarter. We didn't deal well with it."

The Hawks also didn't work well together defensively against the 36ers, giving up too many open shots.

"For a team we don't view as a fantastic three-point shooting team, they were eight of 13," Forman said.

"We were trying to force them to the perimeter, but we didn't get a hand in their face. They got open threes, and anyone will hit an open three at this level."