They say when you hit rock bottom that the only way is up.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Wollongong Hawks thought they had reached their lowest point with a recent 29-point home loss to Sydney, but the truth is they are free-falling down a bottomless pit.
Sunday's 32-point flogging from Townsville was Wollongong's 11th-straight loss - the worst losing stretch by any Hawks team in the club's 35-year history.
They were within touching distance of their second win of the season on Saturday night against Cairns, but Taipans guards Scottie Wilbekin and Cam Gliddon scored the final four points of the game to secure a 69-65 triumph.
Despite the narrow loss, the Hawks flew to Townsville believing they were ready to break the drought.
But they were ambushed by a fiercely determined Crocodiles team, falling behind by 18 at half-time and casually going through the motions in the second half.
Guard Jahii Carson's frustration spilled over after the game when he tweeted "you can't be consistent with people who are simply disinterested" soon after Sunday's loss.
Captain Oscar Forman urged his teammates to remain supportive of each other.
"Worry about what you can do for the team," Forman said.
"It's not a time to go try and get yours. It's time to be accountable for yourself, making sure your house is in order and then help others.
"That's the way it has to be. Without that it just turns too individual. You look at teams that are stacked, when they try and play individual they just get beaten by a team that plays together. That's something we just don't have right now."
Wollongong's committed effort against the Taipans gave their win-starved fans reason to believe the clash with the Crocs would at least be close.
But it was almost as if they decided it wasn't worth the trouble.
As soon as Townsville turned up the intensity in the second quarter, the Hawks pretty much called it quits for the night.
"Everyone's disappointed obviously. We play a good game in Cairns and get close and just back up the next night with garbage," Forman said.
"We didn't execute our scout at all. Everything written on the whiteboard before the game and everything we spoke about in our pre-game meeting, we pretty much did the exact opposite.
"We looked disorganised, we didn't get into stuff, we didn't play hard defence. We just looked like we didn't come out to win."
The Hawks' losing woes are bound to affect ticket sales for this Friday's home game against the Crocodiles.