Tyson was he and wife Nelly's 'miracle baby' after a long and at times heartbreaking journey to starting a family. Of course it had a happy ending, one about to get a whole lot sweeter with child number two on the way.

It's why, when he pondered the toughest call any professional athlete will make, Coenraad knew it was time. Basketball may well have been his first love, but his greatest love was elsewhere.

"We've had to struggle more than most to start a family, me and Nel, and to see it now... Tyson's 21 months old and he's thriving," Coenraad said.

"Now Nelly's 17 weeks pregnant and, after a decade of struggle, our little family's taking shape and it makes life special, coming home to them.

"The one thing I've wanted this whole time is a family and, even though the struggle was hard, it was a long struggle, it was well worth the wait. Family's everything for me and that's where my energy needs to be now.

"It's not about [a lack of] love for the game, because I still have a great love for the game but, to be a professional player, basketball needs to be your life, it needs to be [priority] number one, two and three.

"Initially I said I still had something offer but it can't be something, it needs to be everything and I knew now was the time."

While a desire to give more of his time to his young family, and focus on his growing youth health and fitness business Rebound Nutrition, there were other factors at play.

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The 310-game veteran was overlooked for a spot on the Hawks initial roster, but was invited to stay on and train should a spot open up; but stepping into the lane against a charging Deng Adel brings a certain level of clarity.

"I know I can still play but when I heard [Brian] Goorjian was after long athletic players, I thought the writing on the wall," he joked.

"When I started training with the guys I thought 'wow, these guys are pretty impressive'. You see Deng Adel go to the basket and you just think 'oh, that's what the NBA's like'. It's that next level of athleticism.

"You start thinking 'I don't really want to guard Deng Adel at practice every day'. It was time to say that's it, that's enough for me."

It was a tough decision, but one he could make comfortably on a foundation of 310 games for the club, one of just three players to have passed the triple-century.

The other two, Glen Saville and Mat Campbell, were on hand to witness his announcement on Friday. It was fitting, given the role they played in bringing through a kid few others were willing to take a punt on.

"I'm not going to forget all that Flinny [Matt Flinn] did for me, I won't forget all Bevo [Rob Beveridge] did for me and I'm definitely not going to forget what Cooky [Eric Cooks] and Gordie McLeod did for me," he said.

"They were the guys that said they wanted me to play here. I never made any top teams growing up, I didn't make it to a Div I college. I had to go to a college [Nova Southeastern] where I was pretty much begging them to take me.

"When I came back and was trying to make the NBL I had to beg the Hawks to come and have a tryout.

"Those guys, Gordie, Cooky, Matt Flinn, Mat [Campbell] and Sav... those were the guys making the decision back then and I'll be forever grateful to that group of people for taking that initial leap on me."

While he finishes around 200-odd games short of Saville and Campbell's never-to-be-repeated 500-plus benchmarks, Coenraad can lay claim to one dubious milestone - and it's at the heart of his love affair with the Illawarra community.

"I think I've set the record for voluntary administrations," he joked.

"We've had some tough times through VA and everything like that, but the one thing that has remained strong throughout the whole time has been the community. When I started [in 2009] it was a community owned team and it was the community that really dug deep and kept us from falling over.

"Looking across the club there's no one still here from when I started playing, no players, no coaches, no staff. It's been a complete turnover.

"Owners, players staff have all changed since my first year but the people, the small businesses, the fans, they've all hung around. It's been a privilege to have played in front of them."

That community bond is what prompted owner Dorry Kordahi to retain Coenraad's services as community engagement and player welfare officer.

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It's leaves the 35-year-old confident his beloved club is in good hands and - though he took great pride in it during his decade-long career with the club - in a position to cast off the 'battlers' tag it's carried throughout its unmatched 43 years in the league.

"I'm really proud of the grand final appearances with Gordie and with Bevo because, both times, those teams were picked to come last and we made it all the way to the grand final," he said.

"The first year [2009], learning from Mat and Sav, was pretty special. The second one [in 2016], we made another grand final with a young team. No one thought we were going to make it and we did.

"It was great to do but hopefully it's a culture that'll change now and it's not 'good job guys', hopefully now we're elite and people need to be looking out for us.

"I see the group Goorj has put together and his direction and vision for where the club's headed and I'm just happy to be able to stay a part of it with this club."