Perry Lakes Hawks

Perry Lakes Hawks is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Perry Lakes Basketball Association (PLBA), the major administrative basketball organisation in Perth's western suburbs. The Hawks play their home games at Bendat Basketball Centre.
Club history.
Background.
Perry Lakes Basketball Association was established in 1973 as Scarborough City District Basketball Club. It was formed from the amalgamation of three 'Metropolitan' clubs from the Claremont district: City Beach, Claremont and Scarborough. Scarborough City played out of Perry Lakes Basketball Stadium and competed in the Western Australian Basketball Federation's (WABF) District Competition. The men's A Grade team reached the grand final in 1977, 1979 and 1981, finishing as runners-up in their first and third tries while claiming their first premiership in 1979. Following the 1988 season, Scarborough City Basketball Association was renamed Perry Lakes Basketball Association.
Formation of the SBL.
1989 saw the formation of the State Basketball League (SBL) with both a men's and women's competition. Perry Lakes, trading as the Hawks, entered a team into both the Men's SBL and Women's SBL. Both teams had strong inaugural seasons, with the men finishing in second place with a 19–3 record and the women earning the minor premiership with a first-place finish and a 15–6 record. They went on to reach the inaugural WSBL Grand Final, where they lost 79–66 to the Perth Redbacks. It marked the Lady Hawks' first ever grand final appearance—in the 15 years of the women's District Competition (1974–1988), the Lady Hawks were unsuccessful in reaching the A Grade women's grand final.
Championship era.
1994 was a significantly memorable year for the club, as both teams reached the grand final. While the Lady Hawks were defeated by the Stirling Senators, the Hawks claimed their maiden MSBL Championship with a 107–86 win over the Swan City Mustangs, with centre Andy Uphoff earning Grand Final MVP honours for his 29 points and 24 rebounds. Success for the Lady Hawks soon followed as they claimed their first championship in 1998. Between 1998 and 2004, the Lady Hawks played in every WSBL Grand Final, including winning three in a row between 2001 and 2003 under coach Rick Morcom. In a similar dominant era for the men, the Hawks competed in five straight MSBL Grand Finals between 2001 and 2005, as they claimed a four-peat between 2001 and 2004 under coach John Gardiner. During this time, the men were led by forward-centre Matt Burston and guards Joe-Alan Tupaea, Peter Sinfield, Simon Blennerhassett and Trent Mayger, while the women were led by centre Kate Simkovic, forward Melissa McClure and guard Kim Morcom.
In 2007, the Lady Hawks won their fifth WSBL Championship behind Grand Final MVP Carli Boyanich. In 2008, the Hawks claimed their seventh minor premiership, while the Lady Hawks claimed back-to-back championships behind Grand Final MVP Deanna Smith.
Grand Final losses.
In 2009, the Hawks played in their first MSBL Grand Final since 2005, but fell short of their sixth championship with an 85–77 loss to the Lakeside Lightning. Season 2010 saw another grand final appearance from the Lady Hawks, while Season 2011 saw the Hawks play in yet another losing MSBL Grand Final. The following year, in 2012, both teams missed the finals for the first time in two decades—the Lady Hawks missing out for the first time since 1991 and the Hawks missing out for the first time since 1992.
Return to prominence.
In 2017, now-coach Deanna Smith guided the Lady Hawks back to the WSBL Grand Final, marking the team's first appearance in the championship decider since 2010 as they chased a first title since 2008. They went on to defeat the Mandurah Magic 59–48 in the grand final to win their seventh WSBL Championship. Toni Farnworth took out the Grand Final MVP award after her dominant performance, particularly in the second half where she had 18 of her 26 points. She shot 8-of-18 from the field, 3-of-7 from downtown and 7-of-8 at the foul line.
In 2018, the Hawks returned to the MSBL Grand Final for the first time since 2011, where they chased a first title since 2004. There they defeated the Joondalup Wolves 94–87 to win their sixth championship. Ben Purser was named Grand Final MVP for his 12 points, 10 rebounds and game-high eight assists.
Notable club figures.
John Gardiner, a Western Australian basketball great, coached over 550 games in the SBL for the Perry Lakes Hawks. Gardiner, who started coaching with the Hawks in 1982, coached the men's team from the inception of the SBL until the conclusion of the 2008 season when he retired. Some of Gardiner's most notable achievements as a Hawks coach include guiding the men to their first championship in 1994, and then putting together four successive titles from 2001 to 2004, making the Hawks men one of the most successful programs in the history of the SBL. He also earned MSBL Coach of the Year honours three times, and upon his death in 2014, Basketball WA announced the naming of the award as the "John Gardiner Men's Coach of the Year."
Another notable Perry Lakes figure is long-time Juniors Director and former Perry Lakes Stadium manager, Mike Bussell – a life member of his junior club, City Beach, his Association, Perry Lakes, and the State body, Basketball WA. In the late 1960s, Bussell played at Perry Lakes Stadium in the Western Australian Basketball Federation (WABF) Metropolitan competition for a team from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). He later joined City Beach Basketball Club in 1978, where he coached a number of teams and served as the club treasurer. He joined the Scarborough City Hawks committee in 1983, before becoming the Junior Competition Director in 1985, a position he held for over 20 years.
Accolades.
WSBL
MSBL