Hawks top spot a dream come true for Flinn

Matt Flinn's homecoming to the Illawarra Hawks has led to what he describes as a dream come true with the regular season championship, but he knows it's just the first step and the next goal is sweeping the Sydney Kings.

While it's not officially official, the Hawks did wrap up their first ever regular season championship with Wednesday night's 14-point win on the road to the New Zealand Breakers.

What it means is that the Hawks improve to a 19-9 record with one game to play on Friday night at home to the Kings. The only way they can't retain top spot is losing and a Melbourne United win on Saturday, and with a near 200-point swing.

So that means the Hawks are set to make history in NBL25 by finishing on top for the first time as the lone foundation club dating back to 1979 and there are few people who have been as heavily involved as Flinn.

He grew up in Wollongong dreaming of playing for the Hawks, he got to live out that dream in the early 1990s before returning to be a long-time assistant coach and even spending NBL20 as the head coach.

Flinn has returned in NBL25 to be part of the coaching staff under Justin Tatum. It's led to one of the most enjoyable seasons of his life and a dream come true to be part of a Hawks team who has secured top spot.

"We haven’t achieved what we want to achieve just yet and we still have some goals to tick off, but I'm born and bred in Wollongong, and have had a lot of different roles within the club," Flinn said.

"So to be part of history and finish on top of the ladder is a dream come true, but it all starts with JT and he's an extremely humble guy.

"He's the one at the top of the tree who just gets the best out of people, and that filters right down through the staff and playing group."

What excited Flinn about returning home to the Hawks after coaching the Darwin Salties with Wani Swaka Lo Buluk in the NBL1 North was what Tatum had started to build last season, and was putting in place for NBL25, with such a tightly connected squad.

"This is one of the best locker rooms I've ever been involved in and I'm just so proud for us to represent the community of Wollongong," Flinn said.

"When I first spoke to JT about coming on board and the trust he instilled in just not me, but the other additions to the team, and 90 per cent of the team was here last year.

"They went on that incredible run and you can just the role definition within the group is extraordinary. Everyone knows their role and without blowing JT up too much, everyone feels a part of it and everyone knows what has to get done with their role."

The ultimate goal for the Hawks is to win the club's second ever championship. While they do have time after Friday night to mark the historic performance of finishing top, right now the focus is on hosting Sydney.

Beating the Kings no matter the situation is something that Flinn has had hammered into him from when he was growing up. That rivalry has not diminished one bit over his 30-plus years since first pulling on the Hawks uniform.

So that means trying to sweep the Kings this season is where Flinn and the Hawks' focus is right now, but he also can't be prouder of the support they are getting from the Wollongong community.

"We've sold out our last five games in-a-row and I've been in times where the gym's been nearly empty so to see that is just awesome. We just can't wait for the journey to continue and see what the next chapter holds for us," Flinn said.

"That would be nice (to sweep the Kings). We used to have a saying that it didn’t matter how our season went, as long as we beat Sydney we're OK.

"Obviously there's a big rivalry there and a long history with that club, including us developing a lot of players and then going up the road.

"But just to see where our club is at right now and the work Jared (Novelly) has done since taking over, to see it in such a great place now, we're looking forward to that game and definitely don't want to go into the playoffs with an L to our name.

"We'll enjoy this tonight, recover tomorrow and rip into Sydney."