Illawarra is 'ALL IN' as title pursuit ramps up in the Gong

The Illawarra Hawks have unveiled their official ‘All In Illawarra’ finals campaign ahead of tonight’s Game Two clash with the Perth Wildcats in their semi-final series at the WIN Entertainment Centre.

The concept - created by former Hawks staffer Joel Armstrong – encapsulates the ‘All In’ mentality of team across NBL21 – a season which has been like no other.

‘All In Illawarra’ has also been given the tick of approval from a raft of Hawks’ corporate partners - and will form the backbone of the club’s push towards a second NBL title.

The Illawarra Hawks Principal Partner Pepper Money, City Motors Group, Multi Civil and Rail (MCR), Peoplecare, RIG, i-induct, Venues NSW and DKM Blue have all jumped on board – a series of generous donations ensuring the first 4500 fans who attend Saturday’s game will get a free custom made ‘All In Illawarra’ T-Shirt.

Hawks Co-Owner and President, Dorry Kordahi, said the slogan reflects the region’s togetherness and he praised the selflessness of the club’s valued corporate partners.

“Our corporate family has shown once again how much they truly care about this team and the Illawarra community. As soon as we made an approach to get them all involved, they couldn’t wait to show their support and show the Illawarra community they are ‘All In’ in our title push,” Kordahi said.

“We want to fill the WIN Entertainment Centre and deliver our guys a home court advantage against the defending champions. The building will be covered in red shirts and we hope to create a hostile, but respectful environment for our opponents. These type of opportunities don’t come around very often and we hope the Illawarra community gets around this team on their quest for another NBL championship,” Kordahi said.

‘All In Illawarra’ campaign creator, Joel Armstrong, said he jumped at the opportunity to get involved with the Hawks again after many roles with the club over the years.

“I was off work sick when I got a call about coming up with a campaign for the NBL Finals. I was watching the NBA Playoffs and noticed Dallas were using ‘ALL IN’, so I sent through a bunch of ideas and didn't think much of it until later in the week when Dorry [Kordahi] reached out to see if I could design a graphic to go on a t-shirt,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong was named Hawks club person of the year in 2009/10 and has ridden the highs and lows of the club for more than 20 years.

He believes the onus is now on the region to get behind the team.

“This is a real chance for the club to show they are committed to the Illawarra, but probably more importantly for the community of the Illawarra - who were vocal about the name - to get behind the team and get to the finals games. Now is the time to look at membership for next year to show the owners that this community is behind the team,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong's Musings

Tell us about your involvement and history with the Hawks? Roles, responsibilities, significant work, memorable moments? Why is the club special to you?

My oldest Hawks memories are of the 86' team - Gordo and the Killer B's. I'm told I was a fan before this but too young to really remember. 

In 1986 i got diagnosed with Perthes' disease (hip) which put me in a wheelchair for a couple of years. A "bonus" to come from this was I got to sit courtside generally at the end of the Hawks bench in front of the old scaffold stands (before the seated stand was put in the Pit). 

Mum was involved with the women's team (Illawarra Kittyhawks) through family friend Peter "Buster" Boyle in the 1980s and he introduced me to Gordie McLeod. I have a vivid memory of Gordie pushing me in my wheelchair to meet the team and sit in the locker room post game as the Hawks celebrated a victory.

The Hawks have been a big part of my life ever since the late 80's when Rod and Terry Johnson (former Hawks players) moved into the same small townhouse complex as me which was pretty awesome for a kid who was already a huge Hawks fan. I used to walk to the games with Rod and sneak into the Snakepit before the doors opened to fans, so I always had a good seat courtside.

What about your official involement with the club?

In the early 2000's I made an “unofficial hawks fan site”, which led to the opportunity to take over the reigns of the official site in 2004/05.

Since then I’ve worked with 15+ General Managers and dozens of staff, six head coaches and close to 100 players. Phil Driscoll is the only constant. This Hawks “job” has always been a job of love for me outside my full time job at UOW.

One of my favourite outputs was coming up with the HAWKHEADS campaign and working with the talented team at Relativity to see it put in to reality. I was also honoured to be named Hawks Club Person of the Year in 2009/10.

One of the best things though, is that being involved with the Hawks has led to some great friendships to this day. Thanks to Glen Saville, I got to visit the Athletes Village during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, see Australia play a bunch of games, one of which was against a Kobe and Lebron led Team USA which was a once in a lifetime opportunity. The Boomers coaches on that team were Brian Goorjian, Hawks Championship winning Coach Brendon Joyce and Gordie McLeod.

These days, I’m taking photos of Sav’s kids in their respective sporting endeavours. I lived with Oscar Forman for a couple of years, who now works in the same building as me at UOW. I spend plenty of time watching the footy at Troy “Truck” Pilon’s. And have been lucky enough to visit Dave Gruber and family in Iowa a couple of times.

How would you sum up the Hawks season in 2021? And how has it compared to Hawks sides of the last 20-years? Talk about the difference from last season to this one?

The 2020/21 season has been weird. The hype of the new ownership and excitement of Goorj's arrival has proven true. To be back in the playoffs after a few season's out has been great to witness, the resurgence of AJ, and continued improvement of the youngsters like Sam Froling has been great to watch. As exciting as Tyler Harvey is with the ball and ridiculous shooting range, it's Justin Simon's game, tenacity and effort that I most appreciate. His passion on the court makes for some great photos too. Goorj getting the team into the Finals whilst losing two marquee players is a massive feat, here's hoping he can take us to the Championship, 20 years after our only title.

In terms of my involvement, I’ve stepped back a bit this season though - partly due to Covid-19 and all it’s uncertainty and maybe also that the players are all close to 20 years younger than me.