The twists and turns of their respective journeys have criss-crossed on a few occasions, notably the ACL tear that sidelined Grida and saw Ogilvy thrown a Hawks lifeline last preseason.

Of course Ogilvy parlayed that into captaincy of the club and his best season since his last All-NBL First Team campaign in 2017.

Ironically, Ogilvy becoming an essential piece left Grida feeling a sense of vulnerability as he approached a return from surgery.

Any fears were quickly allayed, with coach Brian Goorjian making it abundantly clear that Grida was in, no matter who the club had to "roll out."

In the end it was two marquees in Deng Adel and Cam Bairstow that the club went without on the run to the playoffs.

"[Ogilvy] definitely has bought me a few," Grida said.

"It was a weird situation because we weren't really sure of the rules around that, whether he definitely had to leave if I came back in. He was the captain and all those things.

"AJ had an amazing season so I know they weren't getting rid of him. I was aways thinking if someone has to leave when I come in it was tough situation.

"I obviously want to play, but you never want to get anyone cut or anything like that. It turned out the rules were in our favour and we could both play together which was great.

"We're definitely looking to build on it this year."

Goorjian's public faith pushed Grida to a strong finish to the year, something he plans to take into his fourth season in Wollongong.

"When I first came back to play I wasn't sure if it was going to be for one or two games or permanently," he said.

"Him saying I was definitely staying in was huge for me and a bit of a relief after sitting on the sidelines all year. It gave me a lot of confidence coming in knowing he backed me that much.

"With that, once I started playing, I kind of forgot all about my knee so that didn't hinder me at all once I got back out there. It really helped that whole process of getting the first few games out of the way.

"Playing under Goorj was the most fun basketball I've played. It's really uptempo and he lets us get after the ball and it's a lot of fun."

Uptempo is the only way the Perth native knows how to play. It shapes as key for Goorjian in the absence of Defensive Player of the Year Justin Simon.

Read more: Hawks to draw on road warriors experience as another season of COVID chaos looms

Simon, who won't return this year, often proved a game-changer with key blocks, steals and offensive boards. It's the type of impact Grida wants to bring.

"I do want to bring a lot of energy just like [Simon] did," Grida said.

"He likes to pick up the ball, play amazing defence and he's an athlete. He kind of plays the same sort of position as me and I'd sub in for him a whole lot.

"Every time I subbed in I didn't want to let the energy dip and I tried to play up to that standard. I definitely think I can fill that sort of role this year.

"We don't know a lot about [import] Antonius [Cleveland] yet, but I think being in that three-wing spot we can give opponents a lot to deal with and I'm super excited to play with him."

Having endured the lows of previous seasons, Grida says there's never been a better vibe at the Snakepit, with a title-or-bust mentality.

"No one really expected us to do as well as we did lats year but we came in with the mentality of 'let's go win this thing'," Grida said.

"We knew all along how good we were and that's lit a real fire under us this year. Everyone's really serious, guys are getting in early and working hard.

"Goorj coming off a [Olympic] bronze medal is massive for us too and I'm sure he's going to bring a few tricks from the Olympics back here.

"It's business-time. The boys are pumped, ready to go and super excited to play with each other again."

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