Long-serving Hawks veteran Larry Davidson was in a reflective mood after playing his 200th game for the club last Friday against Adelaide.
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Davidson, who became the sixth player to reach 200 games for Wollongong, said his eight years with the Hawks have been a rollercoaster ride.
‘‘Since the day I got here there’s definitely been lots of ups and downs with the club,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s cool to play with a club that’s been here since day one and has so much history, and also to play a part in that history and be here for a while.
‘‘It came back from the dead more than once, and we’ve had some great runs like making the grand final in 2010. It actually makes it a bit more enjoyable because it wasn’t all smooth sailing. There was so many highs and lows throughout it that you start to take joy from the positives and learn to deal with negatives better.
‘‘When the club basically folded in 2009, I remember many long walks home from the Steelers club in the early hours of the morning along Cliff Road, wondering what I was going to do with my life. It’s not that sort of situation anymore and it’s a lot easier to deal with.’’
Davidson wasn’t exactly a party animal in his younger days. But he didn’t always take of himself like he does these days.
‘‘I’ve probably slowed down a bit and don’t hang out at the Blue Note till close and things like that anymore,’’ the 32-year-old said.
‘‘You think to yourself ‘if I knew all this stuff 10 years ago imagine where’d I’d be now’, but it’s the same with any job or facet of life. You’re always going to continue learning as you get deeper into something. I definitely look back at the things I used to do and wonder what I was thinking.’’
Davidson has been in the NBL for 11 seasons - he had two years with the Hunter Pirates and one with the Singapore Slingers before joining the Hawks - and is uncontracted beyond this season.
‘‘Obviously I’d love to stay here but that’s up to the front office and the coaches,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s not something I have time to worry about. If you sit around thinking about that stuff then you’re probably not really focused on what you should be. Usually all that stuff happens after the season. It’s more just focusing on training and the games and trying to get this right.’’
The Hawks (3-19) have lost seven straight and seem certain to finish last for just the second time in the club’s 36-year history.
They host Melbourne on Friday night and are on the road against Cairns on Sunday.
‘‘It’d be great to just get a win. We’re so close, and it’s just figuring out how to win a game,’’ Davidson said.
‘‘It’s taken us a lot longer than we hoped for, but we haven’t stopped trying to figure it out.
‘‘I know the fans must be very frustrated. We’re frustrated, but we have to turn that frustration into something worthwhile.’’