Hawk speaks on Gleeson rumours

As soon as Jacob Jackomas and Illawarra parted ways the rumour mill has been rife with discussions around who the Hawks’ next head coach will be, but Wani Swaka Lo Buluk says his side are firmly behind interim head coach Justin Tatum for the foreseeable future.

Since Tatum was announced as taking over Jackomas, both Brian Goorjian and Trevor Gleeson have confirmed approaches from the embattled club. Goorjian was quick to dismiss any rhetoric surrounding a potential return to the club, but Gleeson has been less forthcoming on where he stands on the potential job.

Swaka Lo Buluk was a member of two of Gleeson’s five title-winning Wildcats squads, and has confirmed the squad’s backing of Tatum.

“I did spend some time with Gleeson. He’s a great guy, great coach, obviously one of the greats, but at this moment we’re just focusing on what we have to do next game with JT as our head coach,” Swaka Lo Buluk told the Illawarra Mercury.

“We’re just focused on JT being our coach right now … hopefully we can keep riding and keep going with this.

“We haven’t heard anything about a new coach coming in.”

Swaka Lo Buluk won two titles in three seasons as a member of the Perth Wildcats under Trevor Gleeson.

Due to the mid-season break and lack of fixtures last weekend, the Hawks have had a full two weeks to prepare for Sunday’s clash with the Bullets.

Should Illawarra win at Nissan Arena following their last time out win over the Breakers, it will be the first time in over 600 days the club has recorded two wins in a row, following last season’s dismal 3-25 record under Jackomas.

“We have to take ownership, play hard, play with a lot more effort and get more wins,” Swaka Lo Buluk continued.

“It’s up to us. We’ve got to be more accountable and hold each other accountable. There’s only so much a coach can do. We’re the one’s playing, we’re the ones on the court.

“It is pretty good to have this break, because with what we’ve gone through we need a little bit of a break.

“Hopefully we can keep it rolling.”

The Hawks will play Brisbane on Sunday, December 3 at Nissan Arena, starting at 4pm AEDT. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN via Kayo Freebies, 10 Peach and 10 Play.