While their roster may boast plenty of offensive weapons, including the reigning MVP runner-up himself, Harvey says the Hawks are determined to stamp their authority at the other end of the floor.

It was coach Brian Goorjian's commitment to defence that impressed the Californian native after arriving in Wollongong last season. Led by Justin Simon, Illawarra conceded just over 82 points per game - the second least amount on average among the NBL sides that campaign.

And with a Bryce-Cotton led Perth looming this weekend, Harvey believes the Hawks will need to lift again.

"Defence for us is something we've been hammering since day one. Last year we were one of the best defensive teams in the league, and I've seen the level that we have to get to to get to that point again. We can do it with this team, and we will do it with this team, Goorj will make sure of it," Harvey said.

"I feel like defence should feed offence, and that's what we've got to get to. You have a great team when your defence can feed your offence, and you don't need offence to be going to play good defence. And that's what we really want to get to in these next few weeks.

"But Perth's always tough, they're a great team. They've got guys like Bryce Cotton, Vic Law and Mitch Norton. But it's always fun playing them because you know you're always going to get the best shot, and they're going to get our best shot too."

Read more: Illawarra getting ready for tough slog of games, says Ogilvy

After his superb maiden NBL campaign, Harvey also believes that his best is yet to come in 2021/22.

The 28-year-old has mustered a tick under 16 points per game, slightly down on last season's average of 20, while again managing three assists per game.

But with Illawarra boasting a 4-2 record, and a busy schedule of games to come in the next few weeks, Harvey is more than happy with how the side is travelling.

"I always feel good. I get to play basketball for a living, that's a blessing in itself. At the end of the day, you want to win, but I do hold myself to a high standard. I know what's going to present itself in the game will present itself - I never try to force it. Whatever the game shows me, I try to let that be my flow," the talented guard said.

"But we're 4-2 and we have a lot more games going on. And it will be nice get in a rhythm of playing games consecutively, not one game a week because of COVID and everything. It will be good to get into a rhythm and we'll see how things shake out.

"We have some things to figure out but it's still early in the year. We don't have a whole new team, but we have a couple of new pieces. But this team is fun to be around and it's fun figuring it out with them, so I think we have something special going forward here."

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