We produced our worst performance of the season and then one of our best 48 hours later. It’s indicative of how our season has played out thus far.

It’s often been a couple of steps forward and then a step or two back, which is obviously very frustrating. 

We put three really good wins together and we were starting to feel really good about ourselves. Then we played Sydney at home and we were a lead balloon.

Just as it looked like we were finally gelling we took a big backward step. Then we were absolutely terrible against New Zealand and you start wonder if our bubble had burst.

I was as cranky as I’ve ever been with the team in my four years as Hawks coach. Losses are part and parcel of the game we play and some are worse than others. 

There’s times after a bad performance and you’ve got to be a bit wary of not letting confidence get too low but, when you put in a performance like that, you can’t worry about feelings and egos.

There were no redeeming qualities in that performance against the Breakers and I was pretty brutal in my assessment afterwards. 

Most of that anger came down to the fact that this group wasn’t doing justice to itself. I know, if we can hit our straps, we’re a legitimate playoff team.

I said it after our win over Perth, I couldn’t just can’t let this group lay down because they’re too good and I’ve seen them work too hard to just fade away. 

As it stands we haven’t. I was so proud of the way the guys responded against Perth. There were ups and downs but the guys showed the discipline to stick to the game plan.

That’s the formula for us. If we follow the game plan we can beat any team in this league. If we deviate from it, things can get away from us very quickly.

Christmas dinner certainly tasted a lot better on the back of that performance against Perth. I told the boys to go away and enjoy it because, once we're back, we don’t have that margin for inconsistency anymore.

This is it. We’re over halfway through the season now and every game is so, so vital for us. If we can beat Brisbane this week, we could be in the top four.

We have to beat Brisbane if we’re going to be in it. We know how good they are. I think Lamar Patterson is proving to be MVP material in the way he’s galvanised that team.

They’re beating everyone at the moment and they’re on a mission to make the playoffs. We’re in the exact same boat and it makes every game make or break for us from here on in.