Sport
Wollongong Hawks ready for NBL season
The opening round of the NBL is just around the corner so we had a quick chat with Wollongong Hawks captain, Oscar Forman to find out what we should expect from the 2014/15 Season.
Ticketmaster: Oscar, your first match against the Townsville Crocs is on October 10. You must be excited the season is finally here after a long pre-season?
Oscar Forman: Absolutely, the big thing for us is we love to play the game. It’s been a long pre-season that’s all been to get ready for the season. So we’re very excited to start the season and see what our team we can do.
TM: Your side made the Semi-Finals last season but was defeated by the eventual Champion, Perth. Obviously you’ll be hoping to go further this season – how will the side do that?
OF: We think we’ve improved on last year’s side personnel-wise. One thing we do at the Hawks is break up the season into mini-series, we play each team four times. We look to win every series and beat each team at least once and that usually puts us in good stead coming into the finals. The last two years we’ve finished fourth and we’ve matched up against Perth. There’s a lot of danger teams in the league this season, we just try and finish as high as we can and make the playoffs and then as high as we can in that so we can secure home court advantage in the finals. Our first thing is to improve with every game.
TM: The Hawks have signed Luke Nevill – we know he plays with the Boomers and is a pretty important signing. What will he bring to the team?
OF: He’ll bring some height that we haven’t had in previous years, he’ll bring some rebounding and he’s got that length to challenge and change some shots. He’ll help us defensively being an anchor in the middle. Offensively, he’ll be great for us in terms of really being a guy we can throw the ball up to and he’s going to open up our perimeter shooters like myself. That’s something I’m looking forward to, being able to play a little inside-outside game with him.
TM: You’ve played for the Adelaide 36ers and New Zealand Breakers previously. Can you tell us what you like about Wollongong and playing at the WIN Entertainment Centre?
OF: Playing at the WIN Entertainment Centre is linked with what I love about Wollongong. It’s a coastal town, it’s a beach-side town and people can come to the game after going to the beach, so it’s a very relaxed feel. When we train here (at the WEC), it’s great to be able to walk across the road for recovery and get into the ocean, it’s fantastic for our legs.
TM: Other than Wollongong, which teams do you think will be the big threats this season?
OF: Every team has improved in the off-season. Melbourne have recruited very well and Perth are the reigning champions and they’re always tough and you can’t go past them. The calibre of the imports coming in this year is quite high. There’s definitely no easy wins this season and it’s going to be tough.
TM: Do you have a message for the Wollongong Hawks supporters and members?
OF: First of all, thanks to everyone that’s supported us and continued to support us over the years. We’ve got a great crowd that will support us no matter what and when go around the crowd after games it’s great and really important. I also want to encourage people to get on board and join us. Basketball is a great game, it’s very interesting, we play a great style of basketball, purists and casual fans enjoy it and the more support we have, the better we can play. It’s securing your team in Wollongong for longer.
Don’t underestimate the impact a home crowd can have. We go to Perth, where they have 13,000 screaming fans all hating us and it’s tough to play. So we when we play at home we want to fill the WEC and we want all those people supporting us and giving the other team hell. It does make a huge difference in our opinion.
TM: Thanks for joining us, Oscar. Good luck for the upcoming season!
The Wollongong Hawks will play their opening match of the 2014/15 NBL Season at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Friday October 10 against the Townsville Crocs. The Hawks will play 14 home match at the WIN Entertainment Centre this season. Be there to support your team! Click here for tickets.
