Perhaps not physically, but the 31-year-old says Hawks management's renewed commitment to a strict financial plan in 2008-09 reminds him "of the good old days" when the club was one of the NBL's true underdogs.

"We had a run where we were a top-four team for six or seven years straight and we had a bit of money to burn because we had an owner (John Carson) who could afford to pay up some bills, but this is more like the Wollongong I started with (in 1996)," Campbell said.

"You're on a budget and you want to keep to the budget because you want to keep the club going. Even though we didn't win much at that stage, they were some of the best years because you're fighting every night, and it gives you another motivation to play."

The Hawks have just wrapped up their pre-season campaign, splitting last week's away trials against Gold Coast to finish with a 3-3 record.

They open their season on Thursday week against the Breakers in New Zealand.

Campbell believes his side will be hardened by last season's problems with injuries, imports and off-court financial issues.

"It could've destroyed the team," he said. "It could've ripped us apart. But it didn't. It ultimately made us closer and stronger, and it was good to see the young guys push through that."

"It was just a rough year. We had more injuries than I ever remember, the import situation didn't work out, and we had the off-court stuff of not knowing if the club was going to survive. Everything that could've happened sort of happened to us last year.

"We kept the majority of guys who busted their butts, guys who've seen the other side of it, and everybody's hungry for success."

Campbell suffered a slight groin strain in Saturday's 13-point win over the Blaze but won't miss the opener.