Why? “Because we earned it,” sparkplug guard Dan Grida says. 

The Hawks aren’t just feeling the pressure of Wednesday’s win-or-go-home showdown with South East Melbourne, they’re loving every bit of it. 

Why? “Because we earned it,” sparkplug guard Dan Grida says.  

A creative way of flipping the narrative perhaps? It is finals time after all, and you do what you need to if it gets you over the hump.  

To hear Grida tell it, though, it actually makes plenty of sense.  

There’s no question all the pressure rests on the Hawks shoulders heading into Wednesday’s series-deciding clash. Justin Tatum’s team was the number one seed, finished top of the regular-season standings for the first time in franchise history, features two All-NBL First Teamers, and led the league in nearly every statistical category people could find.  

They’re the best team in the league, on paper and off.  To put that campaign together to this point, and win game one of the series, only to bow out of the semi-finals on consecutive losses would be more than crushing – it’d be disastrous.  

It’s a position the foundation club has rarely – if ever – found itself in in its 45-year history. It’s certainly a stark contrast to Grida’s own three trips to the playoffs in Hawks garb, all of which saw them carry the underdog tag. 

Not so this season. Despite most holding more measured expectations before NBL25 began, Tatum’s Hawks were title favourites in the eyes of most judges long before the regular season was out. Those same judges would no doubt dub a season that didn’t at least end in a grand final series a failure. 

Reading back through all of the above would be enough to make anyone twitchy. Not Grida, though. Those facts that supposedly pile all the pressure on the Hawks shoulders – the ‘body of work’ Tatum referred to following Sunday’s game-two loss to the Phoenix – is what leaves him so confident they’ll get it done. 

“We wanted this,” Grida said 

“All this pressure, nerves, everything that comes with being in a game three in the semis and being the top dog, this is exactly what we wanted. This is what we worked all season for. We're ready for it. We're exactly where we want to be.  

“Instead of being nervous, you flip it into a positive and embrace the challenge, embrace the moment, and it’s unreal. The crowd was so good in game one, the atmosphere was insane, and it’s an even more high stakes game now.  

“It's going to be the best night, and I think we're going to get them for sure.”   

The other article of faith is the Hawks’ proven ability to quickly turn around poor performances. After a 35-84 shooting night, there’s no question that’s what Sunday was for Tatum’s team, but Grida says the effects of the defeat haven’t lingered. 

“There were definitely mixed emotions straight after it because we could have just finished this thing up on Sunday, but the other side of it is we played how we played, we missed all those shots, missed a lot of lay-ups, and we were still in the game right to the end. Now they've got to come back to play us in Wollongong - we're still in a good spot. “Something we specifically pride ourselves on is coming back after a bad game and bouncing back really well. We've had some massive wins after taking some bad losses and, on the way home from Melbourne, I just kept thinking ‘no one's beating us in the Gong in game three’.” 

While the Hawks have been hit and miss through the opening two games – you can make an argument they’ve been outplayed in all but a blazing-hot third quarter of game one – Grida has provided a timely reminder of his value. 

Averaging just 4.9 minutes over the season, the 26-year-old has rewarded the faith of Tatum when pitched into the finals fray.  

He packed eight points at 4-7 shooting and six rebounds into just 11 minutes on Sunday, with the Hawks +7 with him on the floor. It followed a quickfire seven points after starting the second term in game one. 

It’s long earned a place in hearts of the Illawarra faithful, but the true contributions show how important the longest tenured Hawk’s penchant for momentum-shifting hustle plays can be in playoff basketball. 

His take on the surge is selfless as ever. 

“I've been happy to work my arse off all year and cheer from the bench for the most part, but I've always known I can make these contributions,” he said.  

“Some people are shooters, some people are point-guards, rebounders, whatever, I'm an energy guy. That's what I do, that's what I love to do.  

“This is an insanely talented team, so anything I can do to win this thing, that's what I'm going to do. If I don't play for the rest of the finals, I couldn't care less as long as we get this thing done. It’s way bigger than me. 

“Everyone knows how good we are, and we know if we were on other teams we'd be getting a lot more opportunity, but that’s the sacrifice you’ve got to make on a championship team.” 

It’s a sacrifice the three-time Hawks Community Champion recipient would make a hundred times over to be part of a championship team for a club and fanbase that has supported him through a well-publicised run of career-threatening injuries. 

“It would mean absolutely everything to me,” Grida said. 

“I'm so thankful to this organisation and these fans for sticking by me through all these years. This is my fourth finals series with the Hawks, and I've never felt this much love and support from the city. 

“The least I can do is play my arse off and try and win it a championship. The Hawks have won one chip in 40 some years, so we really want to make history and do this together.”  

The Hawks take on Phoenix for the Championship Series team decider Wednesday, March 5th at WIN Entertainment Centre.

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