As one last burst of wet weather hit the Illawarra on Friday, it was a fitting way to reflect on the year we've had.
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COVID casts a long shadow and sports administrators in the cricket and football codes are still having post-traumatic stress nightmares about washouts and postponements.
The Dragons NRLW team played not one but two seasons, letting their chance of a first-ever premiership slip with a grand final loss to the Roosters in April.
St George Illawarra's men's team trudged through a miserable campaign where they finished 10th but just three blokes turned up to presentation night.
The Hawks made a late surge to finish second, but were knocked out in straight sets by bitter rivals the Sydney Kings and since it's all slid to the point they're now 2-15 in the current season.
So 2023 can only get better right? Let's look ahead at what's in store.
Doubles delight
Shellharbour's Ellen Perez leads the charge in January with a realistic shot of winning the Australian Open double crown. Perez and American partner Nicole Melichar-Martinez made a dream run to the semi-finals of the US Open in September.
And while the left-hander maintains her goal of making a grand slam singles main draw again, a major doubles crown would cement her place in Illawarra history.
Dragons dilemma
Will Anthony Griffin last the season as St George Illawarra coach?
The serious assault charges hanging over playmaker Talatau Amone only complicates Griffin's position, as he looks for a solution to the Dragons woes this year.
Young talent Jayden Sullivan and Tyrell Sloan had each requested releases from the club, but the matter has since been settled and they will have the chance to cement their position in the team in pre-season.
Shane Flanagan has left the Dragons to become assistant to Anthony Seibold at Manly, meaning there is no obvious head coaching replacement for Griffin, unless Dean Young was to return from a successful stint working with Todd Payten at the Cowboys.
Dragons officials are also setting about addressing their Kogarah-Steelers identity crisis with a fan survey.
Among the questions included 'which naming convention should the St George Illawarra Dragons use as their formal identity?'.
The options included: St George Dragons, Southern Dragons, Greater Sydney Dragons, The Dragons or the current name.
Right, so the Illawarra is worthy of having a $50 million high performance centre, to be built at the University of Wollongong's innovation campus by 2026, but potentially not be part of the club name?
Makes absolutely no sense.
Second solution
While Canberra looks to be the front-runner for further A-League expansion, if they can secure a stadium funding deal in the ACT, the Wollongong Wolves await the formalisation of a National Second Division, likely to be known as The Championship.
The NSD was to initially be established next year, which was always an overly-ambitious goal, but has been delayed for 2024.
Clubs and fans deserve a clear time-frame and funding model in the coming months.
Hawks grounded
After soaring to the playoffs last season, Illawarra has suffered shades of the bad old days, with import injuries and mid-season exits, slumping to a 2-15 record heading into the New Year's Eve clash with Perth at WIN Entertainment Centre.
The relocation boogieman was lurking again this year, but Hawks officials are adamant US owner Jared Novelly was to keep backing the club.
The new chief executive Stu Taggart, formerly the Wollongong 2022 world cycling championship boss, is now tasked with plotting out a prosperous path for the future.
Waiting game
Will we see any movement on the WIN Stadium upgrades to make it a truly international-level venue?
What about hosting another major event, after the cycling championships?
Or plans for a purpose-built, multi-purpose centre, catering for the needs of our community clubs and capable of hosting state and national competitions?
We can only dream.
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