Hawks keen to come home

Hawks co-owner and president Dorry Kordahi has welcomed Victoria reopening its border to the majority of Greater Sydney, declaring: “We would love to come home to Wollongong.”

Victoria will reopen its border to the majority of Greater Sydney from 6pm on Monday.

Twenty-five Sydney regions will be downgraded and classed as orange, along with the Blue Mountains and Wollongong.

This is potentially a win for the Hawks, who could be free to return to their home base to train and play if they receive the NBL’s approval.

Brian Goorjian’s men are currently based in Queensland for games against Cairns on Monday and Brisbane on Thursday.

Kordahi is hopeful that the Hawks could host several home games against the Victorian-based teams prior to the NBL Cup in Melbourne from February 20; however, a final decision on any relocation rests with league officials.

“If we can get home, we would love that immensely,” Kordahi said.

“That would possibly give us the ability to have some home games against Victorian teams and vice versa.

“We are in Queensland now and we would ideally play against Brisbane and Adelaide, and if we can get home before the NBL Cup and have a few home games, that would be fantastic.”

The Hawks’ Tyler Harvey leads his team’s offence. Picture: Jono Searle/Getty Images.Source:Getty Images

It comes as Hawks coach Brian Goorjian has admitted that being on the road in Queensland is challenging, but the extra time together has only made the team tighter as a unit.

While Goorjian’s Hawks are officially safe to return to Wollongong based on government regulations, their rivals the Sydney Kings could remain stranded in Queensland. The Kings’ training base in Auburn is located near areas like the Inner West and Strathfield, which remain classed as a red zone.

Kordahi understands why the NBL could take a cautious approach to the Hawks and Kings returning to NSW despite the significant drop in coronavirus cases.

“We also respect the NBL’s decision in whatever they do because these changes and border closures can happen at any time,” he said.

“We saw that prior to the northern beaches outbreak how quickly borders can shut.”

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