The first is their winning streak while the second is their home crowd.

The side has addressed the latter by venturing out into the community and conducting clinics, which it hopes will pay dividends in the next three rounds when it hosts matches at the Arc.

Smith has his fingers crossed that tonight's visitor Chelsea will be overwhelmed by Seahawks and Mermaids fans.

"Now that we're starting to win, we're hoping to make the crowd bigger," he said.

"We're really hoping to get 500 in the stands."

Spectators should witness an entertaining duel tonight, with the Seahawks (seventh, 5-6) seeking redemption following their 24-point round one loss to the Gulls (fourth, 6-4).

Smith said a win was vital for his side, fresh from successive victories.

"This is our first streak for the year," he said.

"If we win this, we're going to go into the bye with three straight (wins).

"We really need to win the next few games to give ourselves a shot of making finals."

The guard was one of several Warrnambool players who were missing in the season-opener.

He believed the team had become more familiar with each other in the past couple of months, particularly with the inclusion of Cameron Mitchell and Nathan Sobey.

"Sobes has come in and shoots threes and shoots outside," he said.

"Cameron's been getting 20 to 30 points every game and he just gets so many rebounds."

Smith was enjoying feeding the ball into the selfless American import, who often receives the ball in the post, subsequently taking most of his shots inside the key.

"He always gets in front of his man and you're confident that he's going to score, or he'll pass it out," he said.

"Whenever you cut through he'll look for you."

Smith believed the Seahawks boasted versatility.

"We can be small and quick or we can go big because we've got Cameron and Bobby (Cunningham), who's another big body with Tim (Gainey)," he said.

"Sobes is also real athletic so he can be classed as a six-foot-six player because he can jump so high."

The 19-year-old expected Warrnambool to try and execute its running game tonight after it worked so well last weekend when it thrashed Melbourne University.

He believed strong defence from the Seahawks usually sparked smart offence.

"We know we can play good defence every week . . . it's just a matter of actually doing it when we get out on the court," he said.

Tip-off is 8pm.