Goorjian led new-look Hawks open up winners

It was a case of a new name, new coach, new season and a new result for The Hawks who tasted success in a 90-84 win on the road against a battered Brisbane Bullets in Round 1 of #NBL21. 

The Hawks have been one of the stories of the off-season, shedding their Illawarra title, luring six-time NBL Coach of the Year Brian Goorjian and constructing an interesting roster featuring a blend of youth and experience.

The final thing the Hawks want to shed is the wooden spoon 'earned' off the back of 10 straight losses to close out last season and they took great strides but the game was still on the line in the dying stages.

The Hawks were just up two with the shot clock turned off but two offensive boards proved pivotal, the second ending with a putback Tyler Harvey (16 points) dunk that sealed the win over a Bullets side that couldn’t take a trick at home.

As well as the loss of import Lamar Patterson (New Zealand Breakers), the Bullets also had to contend with the loss of Will Magnay to the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA and injury to Matt Hodgson (calf) which left Brisbane short on tall timber for Round 1.

Compounding their pain, Orlando Johnson was injured in the first half on Saturday and failed to return.

It was an occasion to savour for the Hawks, though, with Emmett Naar showing this might be the season he turns promise into potential as he rained three-pointers on his way to 17 points.

Sam Froling (19 points) was impressive too while Justin Simon's all-round showing stood out made up of 13 points, eight rebounds, five steals and four assists. He is the first player to debut with five steals and no turnovers.

Goorjian hailed his young stars for stepping up and taking the game on, crediting them for his winning return to the NBL after an 11-year absence.

"This group is young and the common theme is they are all wanting to get better," he said. 

"To see young guys that have spent the early part of their career at the Hawks step up in Sam and Emmett ... that was a really good period."

The Hawks have been on the road since Boxing Day and Goorjian said that bonding time had made his roster tighter and stronger.

"I thought that was apparent tonight when a team like (the Bullets) on their home court had three or four runs at us in the second half and we stayed together."

Make no mistake, Brisbane tried hard and had a chance to steal the game in the final seconds, but ultimately surrendering 12 offensive boards, turning the ball over 12 times and missing six free throws hurt their cause. 

Import Vic Law (17 points, 10 rebounds) showed plenty of promise and Anthony Drmic (14 points, five rebounds) contributed well in his first appearance after crossing from Adelaide. 

Nathan Sobey top-scored with 19 points while Jason Cadee scored 12 and Harry Froling 10 to go with 12 rebounds.

Bullets coach Andrej Lemanis pointed to the offensive rebounds, turnovers as well as fast break points and second-chance points as the "little things" that went against his side.

"Having 12 turnovers is not horrible, but it is easy scores for them ... those little things went against us at crucial times," he said.

"We were playing without Hodgo as well and Orlando hurt his arm, people were playing positions they hadn't experienced in the pre-season so there were a lot of learnings. The entire group has played as a full roster for five minutes. There is plenty of gains to be made."

After nearly 12 months of no professional basketball for most players, there was going to be rust. Both teams were hungry to push the offence but the execution was clunky early. 

That is not to say it wasn't without its moments, Sobey setting Law up for an alley-oop, Froling stripping his brother Sam for a turnover and two unorthodox triples from Naar gave glimpses as to what these rosters are capable of.

The Hawks looked the most stifled in attack as their clip sunk to 33 per cent until Simon turned it on after missing two foul shots, first draining a triple then effecting a steal and basket to help slash the deficit with the scores locked at 23-all at quarter-time.

The offensive rust failed to shake free in the second quarter and the game was there to be taken - with Simon igniting a run for the Hawks who ignited a run to push his side in front and lead his side to a 41-38 lead.

The Bullets suffered a huge setback as Johnson did not return in the second half and it was the Hawks that were beginning to click the fastest - extending their advantage to seven early in the third quarter. 

The Bullets simply refused to go away, though, and managed to stay in the fight trailing 62-59 at three quarter-time but it was the Hawks who closed out the match for a morale-boosting start to #NBL21.

The two sides will face each other again on Thursday with Johnson and Hodgson to be monitored during the week before a decision will be made on their availability for Brisbane.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 1

THE HAWKS 90 (Froling 19, Naar 17, Harvey 16)

BRISBANE BULLETS 84 (Sobey 19, Law 17, Drmic 14) 

BOX SCORE