Perry Lakes Hawks
| Perry Lakes Hawks | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leagues | State Basketball League |
| Founded | 1989 |
| History |
Perry Lakes Hawks 1989–present |
| Arena | WA Basketball Centre |
| Location | Floreat, Western Australia |
| Team colors | Blue & white |
| Main sponsor | Austurban Homes |
| President | Karl Hombergen |
| Head coach |
M: Matt Parsons W: Deanna Smith |
| Team captain |
M: Ben Purser W: Kate Anthony |
| Championships |
5 (1994, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004) (M) 6 (1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008) (W) |
| Website | HawksBasketball.com.au |
The Perry Lakes Hawks are a basketball club from Perth, Western Australia competing in the semi-professional State Basketball League (SBL). The Hawks are a division of Perry Lakes Hawks Basketball Association, the major administrative basketball organisation in Perth's western suburbs. Located at the Western Australian Basketball Centre since 2010, the Hawks were previously situated at the now demolished Perry Lakes Basketball Stadium.
History
Early years
In the mid 1970s, the WA Basketball Council established an elite competition to be held on Friday nights, featuring eight teams from the prominent districts of Perth, Swan Districts, Tangney/Willetton, Subiaco, East Perth, Cockburn, Stirling, and Claremont. At the time, two of the strongest clubs in the Claremont district were Scarborough and City Beach, and after some dissension and debate, the two merged to form a new club called Scarborough City Hawks. In 1986, the Hawks changed their constitution to rename the club Perry Lakes Hawks. The new name was more geographically relevant and aligned the club with their home stadium, the Perry Lakes Basketball Stadium.[1][2] Three years later, the Hawks were a foundation club for the State Basketball League's inaugural season in 1989, entering teams for both the men's and women's competitions.[3]
Championship era
1994 was a significantly memorable year for the club as the men won their first SBL championship, defeating the heavily-backed Swan City Mustangs. Success for the women soon followed also as they claimed their first championship in 1998. With the turn of the new century came the uprising of the Hawks. From 2001 to 2003, both the Hawks men and women claimed three-peats, with the men's team going even further by winning in 2004 before being stopped in their tracks by the Lakeside Lightning in the 2005 grand final.
During the three-peat era, the women were coached by Rick Morcom and the men were coached by John Gardiner. The women were led by centre Kate Simkovic, forward Melissa McClure and guard Kim Morcom, while the men were led by forward-centre Matt Burston and guards Joe-Alan Tupaea, Peter Sinfield, Simon Blennerhassett and Trent Mayger.
The men's team went on to make the grand final in 2009 and 2011 behind forwards Tom Garlepp, Ben Purser and 2011 league MVP Anthony Lee, while the women's team won another two titles in 2007 and 2008 behind guard Deanna Smith.[4]
Notable club figures
WA basketball legend John Gardiner coached over 550 games in the SBL. Gardiner, who started coaching with the Hawks in 1982, coached the men since the inception of the SBL competition until the conclusion of the 2008 season when he retired. Some of Gardiner's most notable achievements as a Hawks coach include guiding the men to their first championship in 1994, and then putting together four successive titles from 2001 to 2004, making the Hawks men one of the most successful programs in the history of the SBL.[1] He also earned Coach of the Year honours three times, and upon his death in 2014, Basketball WA announced the naming of the award as the "John Gardiner Men's Coach of the Year."[5]
Another notable club figure is long-time Juniors Director and former Perry Lakes Stadium manager, Mike Bussell. In the late 1960s, Mike played at the Perry Lakes Stadium in the Western Australian Basketball Federation (WABF) Metropolitan competition for a team from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). He later joined the City Beach Basketball Club in 1978, where he coached a number of teams and was the club treasurer at one stage. Mike joined the Scarborough City Hawks committee in 1983, before becoming the Director of Junior Competition in 1985, a position he held for over 20 years. Mike is a life member of his junior club, City Beach, his Association, Perry Lakes, and the State body, Basketball WA.[6]
Current roster
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References
- 1 2 Pekin, Lyndsay (9 February 2010). "Time-out for Perry Lakes Stadium". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
- ↑ "Club History". City Beach Basketball. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
- ↑ "SBL Standings 1989". CockburnCougars.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
- ↑ "About the Hawks". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
- ↑ "2014 Basketball WA Award Winners". BasketballWA.asn.au. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
- ↑ Munnee, Lani (5 April 2013). "Hawks History – Mike Bussell". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
