He laughed when he said it, but Wollongong coach Gordie McLeod denied he was turning his back on the Hawks.

An online report emerged over the weekend stating McLeod was seriously considering resigning after one year of a three-year deal.

The reigning NBL Coach of the Year was amused by the rumour when the subject was raised after Sunday’s season-ending 105-85 home loss to Adelaide.

He said he wasn’t quitting, declaring he will be at the helm again next season.’’

''He might know something I don’t,’’ McLeod said of the report’s author.

Asked a second time if he definitely wasn’t walking away, he said: "No, unless they boot me out the door. I can’t say any more than what I just said. I don’t know what his sources are, but it wasn’t me. It might’ve been tomato [sauce] he was talking to. 

''He’d be getting some of his stuff shaking the bottle. But whatever it is I don’t know. I just hope he’s a bad judge. Hopefully I can dodge the buses and all the other things going around and be here.’’

The Hawks were out-played by the 36ers in almost every department, trailing by double-digits at the end of every quarter.Wollongong were without injured starters Larry Davidson and Tim Coenraad, finishing the season with a horrible 6-22 record.

''It was always going to be that little bit difficult with the combinations we had to play with today. Losing Timmy and Larry really changed the whole chemistry of where we’re at,’’ McLeod said.

"It took us a long time to find our groove tonight and you have to give Adelaide credit for that. They wore us down. They’re not the hottest team in the league because they can’t play. It’s not the way we wanted to go out.’’