SO MUCH for flying under the radar.
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Illawarra Hawks coach Rob Beveridge arrived in Brisbane openly discussing his willingness to experiment with plans for the upcoming season.
He left on Tuesday with the club’s first piece of silverware since taking over as coach, after the Hawks made an emphatic statement to the rest of the league and tearing down powerhouse rivals Perth and Melbourne.
After returning to Wollongong, Beveridge said the Hawks will have an extensive video review of the tournament to ensure the players avoid getting carried away before the season starts.
“There’s a lot to work to do and we’ll be pretty critical about our performances,” he said.
“It’s important we’re level-headed and not get ahead of ourselves at all. There’s some huge positives to come out of it, but we’ve got a couple of very important home games to start the season and we need to start focusing on them.”
US import Marvelle Harris revealed his impressive scoring potential, averaging 19 points for the three games.
Centre AJ Ogilvy, as he did on numerous occasions last season, saved his best for the big moments, with a dominant 24-point, nine rebound, five assist performance in the 94-86 win over Melbourne.
By sheer circumstance, the Hawks showdown with United turned out to be a final, after both teams made it to Monday unbeaten. And while their NBL rivals might still be keeping their cards close to their chests, the win showed the Hawks have all the tools required to be a contender.
Still, the Hawks remain outsiders in the betting markets, even after their NBL championship odds were slashed from $14 to $8 with sportsbet.com.au.
United are favourites at $3.30, ahead of reigning NBL MVP Kevin Lisch’s new team Sydney and Perth.
Most encouragingly for the Hawks was the physical presence of Ogilvy, Nick Kay and US big man Michael Holyfield, who has been a standout of the build-up to the season. Beveridge had declared before the tournament “no-one is ever too worried about who wins the pre-season competition”.
But as it rolled on, victory over long-time bogey team Perth was a mental hurdle cleared, even before reaching the starting line for the NBL campaign.
The Hawks then showed they could handle the heat, coming from behind to win with a 27-point final quarter blitz to beat Melbourne.
NBL
Round one
Friday, October 7
ILLAWARRA HAWKS v ADELAIDE 36ERS
WIN Entertainment Centre