Illawarra were hammered by 40 points at Perth Arena, just two days after falling in an epic quadruple overtime defeat to Melbourne United to start the season. 

“Perth absolutely smashed us by 40 and personally, and I am sure I speak for the guys, it was one of the most humiliating and embarrassing losses we have ever had,” Beveridge said. “That is pretty raw so we are going to take care of the bodies [after beating Melbourne on Thursday] and be exceptionally focused to play Perth on Sunday.”

The Hawks will be high on confidence after returning to the winner’s list with a 87-81 win over defending champions Melbourne on Thursday. 

But the club has struggled in double headers so far this season, losing both times in the second match of the round.

The first of those came in their round one defeat to the Wildcats. 

It’s a match star import Brian Conklin hasn’t forgotten either. 

“We weren’t ourselves at all,” Conklin said.

“We had a really tough game [against Melbourne before it] and we went there, and there is no excuses. We are paid to play basketball. 

“We went there and they kicked our arse so we have to come out and show who are from the get-go.

“We did that [on Thursday night].

“We need to get up, play our tempo and do what we need to do and put on a better face.”