Hawks star's car torched at Snakepit

By Michael Cox
Updated November 5 2012 - 7:05pm, first published November 3 2008 - 10:35am
Hawks player Rhys Martin looks at his burnt-out car. Picture: GREG TOTMAN
Hawks player Rhys Martin looks at his burnt-out car. Picture: GREG TOTMAN

Wollongong Hawks star Rhys Martin has been rocked after his car was torched at the Snakepit, while the rookie guard was 2500km away playing in Cairns.Martin left the 1987 Camira at the Snakepit on Friday while helping the Hawks upset the Taipans on Saturday and claim their first road win of the NBL season.The car was not insured and Martin, who joined the Hawks after playing in Brisbane last season, has had to borrow team captain Mat Campbell's car to get to training.While the car was only worth around $1000, its sentimental value was far higher to the 22-year-old guard. The just-married Martin went on his honeymoon in the vehicle, which had clocked up around 200,000km."I've got some good memories with the car ... it sucks," Martin said."Soup (Campbell) let me borrow his car for a couple days, but I'm going to try to tee something up - just for a loan or something."It's not really ideal - there is one guy who lives out near me, but it would be too hard to get around if I had to rely on him."When Martin first received news of his car being destroyed he thought it was a prank by team-mate Kavossy Franklin."We got back on Sunday around lunchtime and Kavossy's wife was already at the basketball stadium and got there probably two minutes earlier than we did. "She called Kavossy and said that my car was blown up - and he was saying this to me and I'm like 'yeah, okay whatever,' and 30 seconds later we rolled in and I was like 'ohhh ... ' "Wollongong police Acting Inspector Bruce Griffin said officers arrested four men about 5am on Saturday and charged them with six counts of malicious damage by fire to motor vehicles. Insp Griffin said the men - an 18-year-old from Gwynneville, a West Wollongong man, 21, and two men from Russell Vale aged 18 and 20 - had allegedly set fire to six cars in Gipps St and Hindmarsh Ave, Gwynneville, including Martin's vehicle. They had also allegedly set alight a number of green garbage bins. The four men will appear at Wollongong Local Court on December 16.

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