Weary Hawks facing fresh test

By Tim Keeble
Updated November 5 2012 - 6:50pm, first published October 16 2008 - 10:30am
Back-up forward Anthony Petrie (24 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocks) was the standout for the Hawks against Perth. Picture: GETTY IMAGES
Back-up forward Anthony Petrie (24 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocks) was the standout for the Hawks against Perth. Picture: GETTY IMAGES

Two days after being spanked by Perth, the Wollongong Hawks will try to get back on track against the Adelaide 36ers tonight at WIN Entertainment Centre.A travel-weary Hawks spent the day in bed yesterday, wondering what went wrong in Wednesday night's 89-77 road loss to the Wildcats.Despite being confident of repeating last Friday's narrow win over the Cats, Wollongong were never really in the hunt.They were down 46-37 at half-time and trailed by as many as 21 in the second half, with back-up forward Anthony Petrie (24 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocks) the standout for the visitors."We didn't have enough contributors and didn't play with the same intensity we played with at home," Hawks coach Eric Cooks (right) said."We allowed them to push us around again, and we can't be that inconsistent. We have to find a way to be more consistent with what we do."We seemed flat, and that was disappointing because we were switched on at (pre-game) shoot-around and seemed really ready to play, and to come out and have that kind of display was disappointing."The Hawks dropped to 2-4 for the season and are 10th on the ladder.Ninth-placed Adelaide have also been inconsistent, winning their first two games before losing three straight.But while the Hawks are backing up from Wednesday's loss, the 36ers are fresh."It's a long flight, but we're professionals and we've gotta get ourselves up," Cooks said."For whatever reason, we looked flat. We didn't have the energy, and that was disappointing. Hopefully we'll learn from it and keep getting better. We definitely need to play better on the road. That's been one of our Achilles heels and we need to address that."If we'd won we'd be 3-3 and feeling on top of the world. But it's a long season and we're not throwing in the towel."Hawks guard Kavossy Franklin tallied 10 points and five assists in Wednesday's loss, while Dusty Rychart and Mat Campbell combined for 23 points.Meanwhile, Hawks guard Lindsay Tait will line up for his 100th NBL game after previous stints with New Zealand and the defunct Victoria Giants.

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