As a proud sporting region, the Illawarra has a new achievement to celebrate.
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At the weekend our Wollongong Roller Hawks were once again crowned national champions, successfully defending the Australian wheelchair basketball championship they won last year.
Not only did the Roller Hawks win, but they triumphed over the Queensland Spinning Bullets in the Bullets' home state on Sunday.
The Roller Hawks are a much loved part of this basketball mad region.
Like the Hawks in the NBL, the Roller Hawks bat above their weight in the national league, the NWBL, which first started back in 1984.
The Roller Hawks became the first regional team to play in the NWBL back in 2001.
Since then the Roller Hawks have become a firm part of the Illawarra’s sporting landscape, playing mostly out of the Shellharbour City Stadium.
The team largely consists of players local to the Illawarra, but has boasted some import players from around the world.
On top of the back-to-back victories, the Roller Hawks have won the national championship in 2003, 2011 and 2012.
The Roller Hawks took the 2018 national title the hard way having to battle through three sudden death games to claim victory.
Central to the victory again was Finals MVP and Roller Hawks captain Brett Stibners – a name synonymous with wheelchair basketball in this country.
Stibners is Wollongong born and bred, growing up in Oak Flats. His leg was amputated as a result of a car accident in 2001.
Since, he has represented Australia at three Paralympics, winning gold with the Australian side in 2008 in Beijing, silver in London in 2012 and finishing sixth in Rio in 2016.
“I was confident going into the final,” Stibners told the Mercury about the national title.
“What won the game for us was our defence.”
Congratulations, to Brett and the Roller Hawks, our region is very proud of your achievements.
