He doesn't feel like a veteran just yet, but as the longest tenured Hawk, Dan Grida does feel like part of the furniture at the Snakepit.
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Still just 25, there's few things the West Australian native hasn't experienced in a Hawks singlet since debuting under Rob Beveridge in 2018. He's been part of two deep playoff runs, and the two worst seasons in franchise history - the first of those seeing club head into administration.
How quickly his side's fortunes have fluctuated between those extremes is what gives him confidence the only NBL club he's ever known won't stay in the doldrums for too long, even on the back of a 3-25 campaign last season.
"Everyone seems to forget that we went to the playoffs two years straight and had a real good crack at it a season ago," Grida said.
"I've been through the ups and downs with this team. My first year we were kind of middle of the pack, second year we were dead last, third and fourth year playoffs, dead last again.
"It comes and goes real quick. That's the beauty of it. We had a bad season last year, lots of injuries, lots of tough situations, but no one quit on each other. We got along just as much as any team I've ever been a part of.
"We've got an amazing squad this year that the club's recruited. We can be right back up there this year and, with the team we've got, I think we will be. It's the perfect opportunity and we want to go out there and prove that we are a contender in this thing."
The club's recruitment has given more than Grida the belief that things will turn quickly this season.
Justin Robinson returns for a do-over after a knee injury kept him to a lone appearance last season. Add former NBA forward Gary Clark and the Hawks could well boast the most formidable import trio in the league with skipper Tyler Harvey.
With Next Star AJ Johnson and Korean shooting wizard Hyunjung Lee also Wollongong-bound, Grida's willing to call it the most stacked top-to-bottom roster he's been a part of in Wollongong.
"Two years ago, with Duop [Reath] and AC (Antonius Cleveland) and those guys, that would be a close one, but I think we've got [that roster] done this year," Grida said.
"We've got a lot of good young players, we've got Toddy Blanchfield coming back who obviously was electric when he was here back in the day. Our import trio is unreal, AJ Johnson is going to super exciting.
"Every time a new video surfaces of him I just go 'wow', he's a hell of an athlete. It's gonna be a lot of fun playing with all these guys."
It may be a stacked roster, but Grida can still expect the loudest cheer when he takes the floor in season number five, one the previously injury-plagued energy machine is desperate to see out in its entirety.
"I do feel like I have been here forever," Grida said.
"I don't think there's anyone in the organisation that's been here from my day one, everyone else is gone. Sam (Froling) was the year after me, so he's pretty close.
"(Equipment manager) Phil Driscoll's obviously been here since the very start, but it feels good to have hung around this long. I feel a lot of trust and good vibes from everyone keeping me here this long, especially through the injuries.
"A lot of people wouldn't have been able to hang [with me] like this. Not to toot my own horn, but it's a credit to the work that I put in and that's because of how invested I am in this thing and to this city.
"I just want to get a full season for these fans and give them everything. I love playing for these fans, they give me a lot of energy, I like to think I give it back to them. I'm pumped to get out there and really have a crack at this thing."
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Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
