Illawarra coach Jacob Jackomas has praised the determination of Hawks favourite Dan Grida as he prepares to make his long-awaited return to the WIN Entertainment Centre on Friday night.
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Grida's recent history has been well documented, with the 24-year-old spending this NBL campaign on the sidelines so far due to a high-grade hamstring tear suffered in September, which came after he had recovered from a second ACL tear.
Grida - who is a crowd favourite in Wollongong - has continued to work hard on his fitness over the past three months. The forward has also been open about seeking counselling to deal with the mental toll of his injuries.
But, after the club opted to taking a cautious approach on his return, Grida is finally poised to line up for limited minutes against arch-rivals the Kings on Friday.
"I think Grida will be able to play 10 to 15 minutes," coach Jackomas said.
"As distracting as it can be rotation wise - and sometimes it can be a little hard to get our rhythm, long-term wise for the club he's going to be a big part of it. And also for the guys, he's got an unbelievable spirit. I don't know many people that could have come back from what's happened in the last three years.
"We look at him and look at how happy he is to be back on the floor. He's going to give us some energy and some juice."
I don't know many people that could have come back from what's happened in the last three years.
- - Jacob Jackomas
Grida's return may be the boost that the Hawks need as they look to get their wobbling season back on track.
The Hawks showed plenty of fight, before eventually falling in heart-breaking fashion in Cairns last Saturday night, with the Taipans winning 102-101 in double-overtime.
The defeat took Illawarra's season record to 2-12 as they desperately scrap to fight their way off the foot of the ladder.
However, there are some positives starting to emerge for Jackomas's men.
Recent recruit Michael Frazier has been in excellent form since landing in Wollongong, while Grida's returns means that they are getting close to having a full squad again, though fellow import Justin Robinson will miss the rest of the campaign due to a knee injury.
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While delighted just to have Grida available again, Jackomas says there wouldn't be any expectations put on him on Friday night.
"I don't think we could put any pressure on him right now," he said.
"Obviously he does do something different that no one on our team does. He's a big, athletic guy who can get his head on the rim, which we don't have a lot of that. Michael does do a bit of that, but it's an extra piece, and a big piece that we've been missing.
"But I think it's my job to make sure he's comfortable, it's more than important than how he performs. But having a full squad - even if it's for 10 minutes availability wise - is a bonus for us right now, because we do need all of our talent on deck."
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
