A blowout loss to Melbourne on Wednesday means the Hawks can barely afford another loss from the remaining six games, let alone a defeat to the last-placed Snakes.

The ‘home’ clash will come away from the familiar WEC surrounds, with the Hawks flying direct from Melbourne to Canberra for their first Australia Day fixture in the capital.

The Hawks had taken good form into the clash against the reigning champions, but Beveridge was left singing from and all too familiar hymn sheet post-match.

“We were feeling pretty good about ourselves I just thought Melbourne were way too good for us,” Beveridge said.

“Our team need to be really, really locked in on the game plan. When we do that we’ll beat any team in the league. Unfortunately that didn’t happen.

“They shot the crap out of the ball but they had so many uncontested shots that came through us breaking down and [them] picking us apart defensively.

“We just didn’t commit well enough to our game plan and we’re not a talented enough team to be able to do that against a team like Melbourne.” 

It put a big dent in the Hawks finals hopes, though a friendly draw leaves the door slightly ajar.

They’ll face Cairns again in Wollongong next round and seventh-placed New Zealand home and away. 

All are winnable clashes but road games against Perth and a red-hot Brisbane outfit shape as the major stumbling blocks.

Beveridge insists his side haven’t shut up shop with six games left to play.

“We know it’s going to be tough to make the playoffs but we haven’t written ourselves off like everybody else has,” he said.

“I’m not going to allow these guys [to quit]. We’ve got too much heart and character in this team. I don’t care what anybody says, I know, I coach these guys.

“It is disappointing we've had some big losses like [Melbourne] because it does dent your confidence.

“We’ve just got to get these guys feeling confident about themselves. We’ve shown that when we’re reactive we’re a poor team.

“We need to play assertive basketball and just back ourselves. I try to get these guys to play with confidence and back them, that’s what I’ll continue to do.”