Coaches Insight on the Elimination Finals

This Saturday night will see our Men’s and Women’s teams play off in the Elimination Finals. The Winners will go through to next weeks semi-final bracket and the losers are out for season 2022.

Both our teams are playing away. Here are some insights from our Head Coaches.

 

NBL1 West Women – Coach Craig Mansfield

“On the back of winning the championship women’s grand final it was so pleasing to see our players and the club rewarded with an NBL1 West finals position for this season, and on a personal note I have appreciated the support of everyone at Hawks for my first season.  We have a young squad of Hawks people that have committed to playing a new style of basketball and have shown continued progress every week.  There is a strong, positive culture building within our squad that reflects the clubs values.”

“There is no doubt Cougars will present a challenge for us on their home court.  However, I feel there is a significant amount of pressure on Cougars to perform and we have a game plan that should hold up well against their style of play.  All-in-all we are excited for the opportunity and can’t wait for Saturday night!”

NBL1 West Women vs Cockburn Cougars   Saturday August 20th     5pm at Wally Hagan Stadium

 

 

NBL1 West Men – Coach Matt Parsons

“After a tough season which has included so many variables including Covid Absences and injuries, the team has worked extremely hard to ensure that we compete in our 9th straight Finals campaign.

The Boys have really put together a great last 4 weeks of the regular season allowing us to achieve a 4 win and 1 loss record and securing our birth at the pointy end of the season.

A season which has seen the emergence of some great home-grown talent in AJ Nobensi and Nick Floyd and another top 5 finish in the MVP votes for Andrew Ferguson who embarks on his next venture playing professionally in Japan at the conclusion of this NBL1 West campaign.  I couldn’t be prouder of the squad and our leaders in navigating our way through this season challenges.

We are ready to go for the finals, Ready to go for our run in retaining the championship we won in 2021.

The Elimination Final will see us play the Warwick Senators who have a number of star players which we need to limit their impact on the contest.

Perth Wildcats players Majok Majok and Kyle Zunic will be on top of the scouting report and the return of favourite son Cody Ellis to the line will give them a sense of confidence.”

NBL1 West Men vs Warwick Senators   Saturday August 20th     7pm at Warwick Stadium