Long-time rivals Kings start as slight favourites over Hawks

Ladder positions won't mean a thing when long-time NSW rivals Wollongong and Sydney lock horns on Sunday.

The Hawks (5-20) are in last place and destined for the wooden spoon, while Sydney (9-16) are one spot ahead and also out of play-offs calculations.

But the stakes don't have to be high for two clubs that love to beat each other at every opportunity.

"Even though we both can't make the finals, that rivalry is always there and neither team wants to lose," Wollongong captain Oscar Forman said.

"They've beaten us in two games this season and we've beaten them once, so this is our chance to square the series. To do it on their home court would be even more satisfying."

Sydney won 86-83 at home in round one before dishing up an 82-53 rout at Wollongong in round five.

The Hawks exacted some revenge with an 82-77 home win in round 10 and would have to prevail by 28 points on Sunday to claim the season series.

Missing from Sydney's line-up is injured do-it-all forward Josh Childress. The former NBA star averages 26 points and 11 rebounds against Wollongong and the Hawks won't mind that he is sidelined.

"He was obviously a focal point but they've had a few weeks now to get used to playing without him," Wollongong coach Gordie McLeod said.

"They've shown as a group throughout the year that when someone is down, someone else steps in and they compete, and they've beaten teams in that situation."

While the Hawks have won two of their past three games, Sydney have lost 10 of their past 12, including six straight at home.

But the Kings still start as slight favourites.

"The one thing you know you're going to get with Sydney, regardless of who's playing and who's not, is that they're coming after you," McLeod said.

"They do a good job of disrupting. They trap, they double and they change their defences up. They'll be very physical. They towelled us up in the pre-season and they towelled us up once during the season.

"The most important thing is that we go out and play our game. If we set the tempo with our defence, which we've been doing well lately, we'll put ourselves in a position to win the game."

The Hawks wrap up their 2014-15 campaign with next weekend's games against Townsville (away) and Adelaide (home).

"We've made some pretty good progress lately and we're trying to finish off the season the best way we can," McLeod said."