HOOPLA: Life's a beach for returning Hawks

A 4-0 start sweetened things, but the sense of relief was palpable when the players took to the WEC floor on Monday - remarkably a first for the bulk of the squad who'd never previously set foot on their own deck.

A fair chunk of the playing group got out of leases in Wollongong in the belief they'd be away for even longer, but setting up down some semi-permanent roots again is a welcome change, and beats a direct shift to a Melbourne bubble for the NBL Cup later this month.

Coach Brian Goorjian admitted he wasn't sure how much more juice he could've squeezed from the orange without the homecoming.

"I remember when I traveled with the national team, I did that for Athens and Beijjing [Olympics], we'd go to China, we'd go to Europe and you get to a point where you know guys are getting worn, they're getting tired and it's not a day's rest or two days off [that will fix it], you're going downhill and it ain't going to get better." Goorjian said.

"[After] two weeks in Albury we were coming to the end, you could just tell the guys were starting to get [over it]. Then we got to Cairns and it was a new experience but I was really worried about game four because I thought the guys were starting to get worn. You're away from home and it just started to build.

"I thought in those last couple of days, the guys were starting to fatigue and starting to get worn and we needed to move. We got them up real early in the morning so they could have most of Friday, we got back in the early afternoon, and then we gave them Saturday and Sunday off.

"We were just fortunate that that was the timing, we were bale to fly back here give them a couple of days off and be in our home venue. To me they look refreshed and now we're back to our weekly routine, we know we've got a full week here. There'll be hard training, massage, recovery and we'll have fresh legs for the game against Phoenix."

Beyond that there's every chance that the Hawks could play one or more games at the WEC prior to moving south to Melbourne for the month-long NBL Cup after the season was again turned on its head by the pandemic.

The Wildcats flew to Sydney on Monday and won't return to Perth until the completion of the Cup after WA Premier Mark McGowan initiated five-day lockdown following a positive result detected in a quarantine hotel security guard.

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The defending champs will be now based in Sydney to travel for matches before travelling to Melbourne, seeing their scheduled clash with New Zealand postponed. It also forced the Hawks next opponent, South East Melbourne, into self-isolation after edging out the Cats at RAC Arena on Friday night.

Goorjian says he's stayed in his lane all the way through the roller coaster, but has made no secret of his desire to hit the floor in front of a home crowd in Wollongong sooner rather than later.

"I'm not part of that communication, management's been great and I try to stay focused on [the court]," Goorjian said.

"I know there is talk, they're talking as we speak, about possibly bringing a home game here. I don't know when or how that's going to work, but I'm certainly excited for that day and the first one for me and the team in this venue. You start to get excited, it's really good to be back.

"For us this where the vision is, to put a nice show on and put something on for the home crowd. [Monday] is the first time we've shot on our own floor... you walk out the door and you're right on the beach, beautiful city, beautiful township, there's so much to be excited about. We know at some point we're going to get 14 games here and we're excited about that."

He may be coaching the Hawks, but Goorjian's name will always be synonymous with South East Melbourne, having turned the Magic into a juggernaut in the early 90s with the first of his two championships.

They no longer go by the Magic moniker but, after 11 years away, Goorjian is happy to return to an NBL featuring an all-Melbourne rivalry.

"You hear me talk about the Hawks and know I'm into tradition," Goorjian said.

"I thought the NBL was at its best when you had those strong rivalries. One of the strongest was within Melbourne and you just saw the game they played [on Sunday]. You get Melbourne behind it, you get Sydney behind it and it's huge for our league

"I've been out of it for 11 years and I've seen the difference in how the game's promoted, the support of the game and we're in COVID. Larry [Kestelman] has done a tremendous job with this because it was on its knees when I left.

"I'm excited for when it all opens up and COVID goes away and we get the stadiums full and we get these rivalries going. I know we're going to have one with Sydney, we're looking forward to that, and that's stuff for the future that we're all excited about."