FOUR more years. Four more years.
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It’s usually a chant reserved for a victorious politician marching triumphantly to the stage in front a raucous and adoring crowd.
And while Malcolm Turnbull’s halo might be slipping in Canberra in an election year, Rob Beveridge is truly viewed as the Hawks’ messiah in Wollongong.
The narrative has undoubtedly taken twists co-owner James Spenceley would never have expected when he took over in 2014.
Famously, he declared “our internal goal is to win a championship within three years” during an in-depth chat with the great Mercury basketball writer Tim Keeble.
So, after the players and officials left Friday night’s awards dinner with mixed feelings over their achievements, the preparations begin to meet the Spenceley deadline next season.
They are perfectly positioned.
Hawks captain Oscar Forman, uncontracted for next season but expected to play again in Wollongong, is all too aware of the lessons learnt.
If he needed any reminder after losing the semi-final series in three games, it was clear when Perth claimed the crown against New Zealand.
“It was tough, it taught us a lesson,” he said.
“If we’re going to keep the team together next year, we’ve got to be tougher.
“You get to the grand final series and it just becomes a bully match.
“We were too perimetre-orientated and that’s why we lost two games at home against Perth (during the season).
“We need to toughen up.”
It’s a blunt assessment and a difficult balancing act, given the at times spellbinding product the Hawks delivered on court.
It was no fluke they were the league’s highest scoring team, something which Beveridge has made clear he is proud of.
“We’re a more talented team, if we can take a little bit of what (Perth) had, then we’ll be great,” Forman said.
The Hawks are understandably confident the NBL MVP Kevin Lisch, someone who views Beveridge as a father figure since coming to Australia, will stay now.
Big man AJ Ogilvy is clearly the next crucial retention target.
If Lisch becomes an Australian citizen, the Hawks suddenly have room to move to look for a big import to provide Ogilvy more assistance against the likes of Matt Knight and Nate Jawai.
Basketball may not have the profile of rugby league in this working-class, south coast paradise.
But the significance of Beveridge’s four year commitment should not be under-estimated.
It stands alongside Wayne Bennett’s arrival in Wollongong.
The Dragons had to overthrow the chokers tag, earned from the 1999, 2005 and 2006 failures and delivered in the delirium of one fateful night in 2010.
The Hawks scratch their heads, uncertain how to break the Wildcats curse, which has stretched to 24 games in Perth and dates back to 2005.
They’ve earned the respect of the community again after controversially slipping into voluntary administration a year ago.
They’ve captured the imagination again, with one of the best atmopsheres at WIN Entertainment Centre in the Perth playoff since Damon Lowery’s folklore free throw fairytale.
There’s just one piece missing and it’s Bevo’s mandate to deliver it.