After all but crashing out of finals contention with a club-record 11 straight losses, the last-placed Hawks are seeking their third win in four games when they host star-studded Melbourne United.

Melbourne are fourth with a 7-7 record and coming off last week’s losses to Adelaide and New Zealand.

McLeod believes Melbourne boast the league’s top playing roster.

‘‘Talent-wise, they’ve probably got six of the best players in the competition,’’ McLeod said.

‘‘They can attack you virtually one through five and they’ve got different ways to go at you, so it’s not a team you can just focus on one or two players to shut down.

‘‘The other thing about Melbourne is their size and athleticism and their ability as a group to score in a number of ways. They’re a team that can get hot and when they get hot they’re very hot. They bring a real challenge but one we’re really looking forward to.’’

Wollongong’s playoff hopes are hanging by a thread.

Last season they won eight of their final 10 games to claim fourth spot with a 13-15 record. The Hawks have to win 10 of their final 13 matches this season to match that feat and then hope it’s good enough to return to the post-season.

Last week Wollongong came from behind to beat Sydney by five.

‘‘We’re starting to find our way. We’ve made some significant improvement and found some consistency as a group,’’ McLeod said.

‘‘We’ve done a good job defensively and we’ve played more consistently over the whole game. The really pleasing thing from last week’s game was the overall contributions from everyone. We got a number of players in double figures and that’s something we haven’t done well.

‘‘It was great to see that and see us play four consistent quarters and that’s what you need to do in this league to compete and get success.’’

The Hawks are hoping forward Tim Coenraad isn’t sidelined with a foot injury.

Coenraad has taken little part in this week’s training sessions, which have mostly been of a high standard.

‘‘It’s been a good solid week and this part of the week now is more the mental and tactical side of things,’’ McLeod said.

‘‘We’ve continued to try and develop our offensive system and we’re looking at a few things defensively for Melbourne.

‘‘In Timmy’s case, a lot will depend on how he pulls up. We’ve got a plan with the medical staff to try and manage it. We’ll see how he pulls up game day and go from there.’’

Plenty of tickets are available starting at $12 for children, $19 for adults and $49 for families.