"In the doghouse": Tatum turns up heat

Illawarra Hawks coach Justin Tatum is turning up the heat on his players, literally, in a bid to avoid any complacency creeping in.

The Hawks is top of the table after an impressive win over Melbourne on Friday night, but any thought of a breather was quickly put to rest, as the Hawks headed to the Snakepit for a session in the ‘hotbox’.

“It’s important to keep winning. That’s why JT is on us right now, and that’s why training is at the Snakepit; it was supposed to be at the WEC today, but he wanted us in the doghouse, where it’s hot and humid, making us breathe heavy,” Will Hickey told the Illawarra Mercury.

While the Hawks are the form team in the competition right now, the chasing pack are hot on their heels.

Melbourne had set the standard all season before losing Chris Goulding and Marcus Lee to injury. The Sydney Kings are starting to hit their straps, Perth and Bryce Cotton are scoring at will, while Tasmania is officially back, after a slow start to the season.

South East Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, going all the way down to eighth place, all have legitimate Finals claims, in a hotly contested race.

To say Sunday’s clash against Perth has massive stakes is an understatement.

“We need to keep pushing buttons to stay at the top,” Tatum said. 

“I want to make sure that we get a lot out of them. I don’t want them to feel too comfortable. We haven’t done anything yet, and this is a reminder that there’s much more we need to achieve.”

The Hawks won in enemy territory when the teams last met, but not before Cotton knocked down 40 points in what was a 232-point shootout.

Tatum said Illawarra would do its best to “mitigate” an almost unstoppable Cotton, but ultimately, winning was what mattered most.

Sunday afternoon looms as a blockbuster, as the Hawks host the Wildcats from 2.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN, 10 & 10 Play.

Read more here >> Hawks 'sweat it out' ahead of clash against Bryce Cotton's Perth Wildcats