A Message From The President

Dear Members and Supporters, 

I’d like to formally welcome you back for the NBL 2021-22 season. 

A lot has happened since our Illawarra Hawks fell to the Perth Wildcats in one of the most exciting playoff series in the club’s history, and I’d like to share some of those developments with you today. 

Firstly though, I hope everyone has stayed safe during the various lockdowns around the country. The most important thing to the Illawarra Hawks basketball club is your health and wellbeing and that of your family and friends.  

Since we last saw one another a lot has happened. 

Our Head Coach Brian Goorjian and new marquee star Duop Reath created history by helping the Australian Boomers win their first ever Olympic medal in Tokyo. 

We have welcomed several new faces to the club, both on and off the court. Duop is joined by Harry Froling (the brother of Sam) and Antonius Cleveland, with the three of them set to wear the Illawarra Hawks jersey for the first time. Akoldah Gak has also been elevated to our senior squad fresh off his outstanding performances at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup. We can’t wait to see them in action.  

The club has also secured the services of renowned strength and conditioning trainer Alex Moore, with his previous experience with championship winning NBA club – the Cleveland Cavaliers – sure to help take our team to the next level. 

We have successfully launched the clubs Hawks In Business (H.I.B.) program. It is a unique and engaging concept created with the sole purpose of connecting like-minded individuals within our business community. 

The program has already signed several leading Illawarra business leaders up to take part - and is set to commence in the coming weeks with our first official event. We encourage anyone who is interested to get in touch with us immediately. 

And we have also released the much-anticipated 2021-22 schedule, with a series of huge home games and family-friendly timeslots dominating our draw. 

Sadly, emerging guard Daniel Grida’s second long-term knee injury has soured our amazing off-season. Dan has already had surgery on his torn ACL and is on the road to recovery, and we will do everything in our power to ensure he returns to the court bigger and better in no time. 

In the next few days we expect to announce the signing of our third and final import player. We will welcome back ‘Next Star’ Justinian Jessup from his Summer League stint with the Golden State Warriors. And nominate an official injury replacement player for Dan to round out our roster. 

And there is plenty more on the horizon as well, with a series of exciting announcements set to once again reinforce this ownership groups commitment to the Hawks, to local businesses and to the Illawarra region. 

We thank those of you who have already signed up as members for the new season - and encourage those who haven’t to start locking in the hottest ticket in town. 

The last few months in particular have been some of the most challenging in our lives. But we know the people of the Illawarra and surrounds have not only survived, but thrived during tough times before. 

And as NSW opens up again, we look forward to safely welcoming you back to the WIN Entertainment Centre to cheer on your Hawks as we push towards a second NBL title for this great community. 

Finally, there is no better time to jump on board as a Partner of the Hawks.  We have a wide range of packages to suit all businesses large and small and welcome the opportunity to discuss these with you.  To find out more email our Corporate Partnerships team on partnerships@hawks.com.au 

Stay safe, Go Hawks