Instead, Ogilvy declared the team are using a lengthy 10-day break before their next game against Perth to make minor tweaks to their defensive structure.

Coach Rob Beveridge launched a scathing critique of Illawarra after Perth piled on 31 fourth quarter points to come from 13 down to win 99-96.

Beveridge labelled the Hawks as “mentally soft” and the “worst rebounding team in the league” after a “horrible, horrible finish”.

It was the second time in three weeks they let victory slip against the Wildcats.

Ogilvy admits Beveridge’s comments have stung, but said it’s a perfect motivator.

“We know what Bevo is saying, our group would not take it personally,” he said.

“We know we’ve got things to work on, basically we have to improve our rebounding. 

“But it’s still fairly early on in the season and we’re still kind of learning about playing with each other.

“You’d like to think we could have learned the lesson after the first time, but Perth are the biggest challenge in the league when it comes to rebounding. We’ll certainly take a lot out of it.”

Ogilvy has been a huge presence for the Hawks, picking up 25 points and 10 rebounds in the most recent loss to Perth.

He is ranked fourth in the NBL for points with 20.33, is third on the rebound count and also in steals.

However, they have been dominated on the boards by bogey team Perth, who have a combined 51 extra rebounds from the three meetings this season.

Illawarra travel to Adelaide on Friday for Saturday night’s showdown.

Ogilvy will face a crucial battle against 36ers centre Daniel Johnson, currently second on the rebound averages with 10.50 per game.

The first time they’ve met in 2015-16, the Hawks will not face Adelaide again until January 28, starting a run of three games against them in the space of 15 days.

It’s a chance for the Hawks to gain a significant edge in their four-game series against the 36ers this season.

“Especially over there,” Ogilvy said.

“You never know where teams will be sitting at the end of the season, but we play them three times at the end, so it will be very important for us.”

Adelaide produced an impressive defensive effort to shut down Townsville on Sunday.

After leading by eight at half-time, the 36ers marched to a 24-point win, restricting the Crocs to just 65 points.

“We played them in the pre-season and it was a real end-to-end shoot-out in Nowra,” he said.

“We brought the tempo back to make it a half-court game, but they worked really hard on defence (against Townsville).”