The veteran forward hasn't exactly announced himself as the team's new designated enforcer, but he showed against Cairns last Saturday that he isn't afraid to throw his 35-year-old body into a skirmish.

Ballinger tangled with Taipans forward Alex Loughton midway through the third period when the Hawks trailed by 10. Fouls were called on both players, but a re-energised Wollongong fought back, tying the game with 28 seconds remaining before going down 69-65.

The Hawks weren't armed with similar defiance in the following night's 32-point thrashing from Townsville. They can expect another heavy loss if they don't make a stand on Friday.

"It was nothing against Loughton. I honestly thought we needed to get going a little bit, that someone needed to change something up," Ballinger said of last week's dust-up.

"Sometimes a little scuffle on the court will do that. It got us going and got us back into the game. It got both teams pushing and shoving a little bit, so that part of it was good.

"It was a little uncharacteristic. I've done it a few times. It was pre-meditated, but it kind of worked."

Ballinger is back with the Hawks this season after playing with the club from 2005-07.

He had a five-year stint with Adelaide and spent the past two seasons with Melbourne.

Last-placed Wollongong's 1-11 record wasn't what he envisaged when he re-joined the club, but Ballinger insisted the team was not at war.

"It's hard to say you feel good when you've lost 11 in-a-row," he said.

"We feel like everybody probably thinks we feel. We're a little bit lost, wondering where that win's going to come from. Everyone's working hard and trying to stay upbeat. Everybody gets along within the group. It's just a matter of finding our identity out there on the court.

"Once you've lost a lot in a row, it gets harder and harder because you get into a habit. Not on purpose, but that's what kind of happens. We just have to break out of the habit. We've gotta have somebody step up and have a big game, to get us through to that first win and move on from there."

The Crocs were merciless against the Hawks last week, turning a comfortable 18-point lead into a rout.

"They played really well and we played really poorly," Ballinger said.

"To have that letdown after we played well against Cairns was disappointing. "No matter how it happens or where it comes from, we just need a win right now," he said.