​They are battling through the worst season in club history but the Wollongong Hawks are showing no signs of strain.

Wollongong have lost their past seven games and are entrenched at the bottom of the ladder with a 3-19 record. Earlier this season they lost a club-record 11 straight games.

The Hawks host fifth-placed Melbourne (11-11) on Friday night and travel to Cairns the next morning to prepare for a Sunday afternoon clash with the league-leading Taipans (17-6).

Despite his team’s struggles, coach Gordie McLeod said the players haven’t stopped putting in a wholehearted effort into training.

‘‘This is obviously challenging times for everyone, but we’ve had a solid week of practice and the guys are working hard to hopefully get over the line this weekend,’’ McLeod said.

‘‘We’re going to have to go up a notch with our consistency. We’re playing hard but it’s about being able to play four quarters without those mistakes that really punish us. That’s the challenge in front of us.’’

Melbourne beat the Hawks 88-75 at home in round four and prevailed 103-98 in an overtime thriller in their round 11 meeting at Wollongong.

McLeod rates Melbourne’s playing roster as the league’s best on paper.

‘‘We’re playing one of the most talented teams in the competition,’’ he said.

‘‘They’ve certainly got the individual talent and when they all put it together on the night they’ve shown they can really give teams a whole lot of trouble.

‘‘You look at the experience of a lot of their players and add two solid imports like [Stephen] Dennis and [Jordan] McRae, you’ve got a very, very talented team. They’re trying to get back into the finals so they’re certainly going to bring it. We’re trying to get over the line ourselves so it should be a good contest.

‘‘No question this team’s offence is very potent, so we have to find ways to disrupt. They’re great in the open floor with the athletes they’ve got and their ability to spread the floor, so they bring many challenges.’’

McLeod chalks up his 433rd game as an NBL coach on Friday, bringing him level with former Wollongong coach Brendan Joyce.

McLeod coached West Sydney and Singapore (since folded) before joining the Hawks in the 2009-10 season.

Brian Goorjian heads the list on 735 games, followed by Lindsay Gaze (651), Alan Black (497) and Brian Kerle (456).

McLeod wasn’t aware he was closing in on the top five.

‘‘It’s not something that really concerns me or interests me. I enjoy what I do so that’s irrelevant,’’ he said.

‘‘It just means I’m getting old.’’