The Hawks have wrapped up another successful regular season with a fantastic end-of-season dinner, celebrating the achievements of our players and wider team. With the Hawks making history as Regular Season Champions, there was plenty to celebrate.
The evening began with Co-Captain Tyler Harvey winning Members Choice Award, as voted by our dedicated fans, while Development Player Luca Yates was honoured with the Illawarra Hawks Community Award.
Amber Morrisey, who oversees Events and Special Projects for the Illawarra Hawks, was honoured on Thursday evening as the Club Person of the Year. Presented by previous recipient Scott 'Mutts' Muttdon, Amber was repeatedly praised throughout the evening for her dedication and hard work across multiple aspects of the organisation, including Game Day event presentation, Hawks corporate events, special projects and of course the NBL25 season dinner itself.
A special moment of the night was dedicated to Mick Hendricks, who received the Phil Driscoll OAM Volunteer of the Year Award for his tireless dedication and invaluable contributions to the club.
Mason Peatling, who stepped into a starting five role in NBL25, was recognised by his peers with the ‘Player’s Player’ Award. Meanwhile, William ‘Davo’ Hickey took home ‘Most Improved Player’ award, following the announcement of his three-year contract extension with the Hawks.
There was plenty of debate throughout the league about who would take home Defensive Player of the Year, but it came as no surprise when Wani Swaka Lo Buluk claimed the honour after his dominant defensive performance all season long.
The night’s most prestigious award - the NBL25 Most Valuable Player - was presented not to one, but three standout players: Trey Kell III, Co-Captain Sam Froling and second Co-Captain Tyler Harvey, each instrumental in the Hawks’ success this season.
Reflecting on the season, Head Coach Justin Tatum expressed his pride in the team “What can I say, I am extremely proud of this squad. If given the opportunity I would have given every guy something to take home. They were extremely tough decisions this year, however the recipients were more than well deserved.”
“We have had a truly great season, where each and every player has stepped up both on and off the court. The job is not done, but that’s not to discredit the job they have done to get us this far.”
You heard the Coach, the job is not done yet, we now turn our attention to the NBL25 Final Series to bring the chip to the Illawarra.
Because, WE RISE TOGETHER.
