The Hawks were on their home floor against a Kings outfit coming off a long-haul flight from Perth, less than 48 hours after edging out the Wildcats by a point.

Illawarra were coming off a seven-day preparation, with a top four spot beckoning, but trailed at every stoppage and faded down the stretch to go down by 15.

It’s result that could well come back to bite them at the pointy end of the season, something a frustrated Beveridge acknowledged in the aftermath.

“The tempo we should have played at just wasn’t there,” Beveridge said.

“They had a tough game over there in Perth and got in late [Saturday] night so they were there for the taking. We should’ve had our foot on their throat the whole game.

“By no means was it a free hit but we had a great opportunity to beat them and we lacked the discipline and mental toughness to get that done.

“It shows me that it’s not a physical game, it’s a mental game. We beat Adelaide [away] and they were waiting for us there as well.

“It’s a mental game, simple as that, and right now we’re just not mentally tough enough.”

The loss ended a three-game winning streak for the Hawks, leaving them at 6-8 on the season, with Beveridge putting the onus on himself to find a consistent formula.

“We’ve come along in leaps and bounds, there’s no question,” Beveridge said.

“I thought we were very good in the first half, but we had four bad shots leading into halftime where we didn’t score and we went away from exactly what we needed to do to stay in the game.

“We were up six at one stage, we were defending well, rebounding, all the things we spoke about, but I thought we lacked discipline in that period of time.

“I’m disappointed about that but I’m the coach of the team and the buck stops with me. I’ve got make sure I get these guys playing harder and more consistently for the whole game.” 

It’s a frustration shared by the playing group according to Todd Blanchfield, who led the Hawks with 12 points on Sunday.

“We’ve taken so many big steps forward over the last few weeks, especially in Adelaide,” Blanchfield said.

“We were the underdogs going in there and were able to come away with that win.

“I think that was the most disappointing thing [on Sunday]. We had an opportunity to put away the best team in the league at the moment.

“Our game plan was we wanted to get out and run but we couldn’t get it done and I think a lot of the guys are pretty disappointed at the moment.” 

The loss saw the Hawks surrender fifth spot on the ladder to Adelaide ahead of the first of four clashes with New Zealand in Hamilton on Friday.

It’ll be followed by Sunday’s home clash against Perth, one of eight home games from their final 13. Beveridge said his side simply can’t afford to drop games to sides below them on the ladder.

“I said to the guys in the change rooms, we have to go in with an absolute, categorical, desperation and urgency,” Beveridge said.

“We must win the game, that’s attitude we’ve got to go in there with.”