Oh man, with every new announcement the 36ers gradually get closer to the wooden spoon...

Great pick up by the Hawks, is he signed for the full season? or just replacing Davidson??

Wow - the big signings continue!

Bring it on!

Wow that is fantastic news for Wollongong and the League.

I was just saying yesterday how the Hawks deserve a break, I guess this is my prayers answered.

Some questions :

1) As asked above is this a full contract or injury replacement?

2) Did the Hawks have that many points left over from their loyalty discount or did Luke appeal points?

3) Upon leaving the Wildcats, Luke lamented that the team never played him effectively and to his strength. Will Gordie? IN Geordie we trust.

Luke is a very capable mid-range Centre, on top of this you have Forman and Davidson, together with Gruber and Balls, this front line will trouble a lot of teams.

Such a great season coming up.

PS...I think comments like RIP 6'ers are unwarranted.

Big signing (figuratively and literally). If Ervin gets back to last season level, Carson shows more than dunking ability, Coenraad continues his preseason form, Wollongong have a very potent line-up at each line.
The league has taken a huge step forward this season with the quality of player that we're seeing. Disappointing that it's only us that missed the memo, but anyway, still exciting times for the league.

Gordie may be the coach to get the best out of Neville. Hope it is a full contract.
@ Marcus Camby whether we agree with someone or not they're entitled to their opinion.
This signing probably does push the sixers close to the spoon IMO.

He's signed for the season, per Wollongong's Twitter.

Great player, and really underrated in this league. Look at Townsville's win/loss record with and without him from a couple of years back.

I can't wait to see how many Neville to Woolongong posts I read on here.

I'm looking forward to see how this front line goes up against the Townsville one.

Gladness will have to respect Neville's mid-range, but the reverse is true too.

Forman represents the biggest threat outside so Conklin will have to be careful but may get the better of Forman on the other end too.

Coenraad Vs Blanchfield would think a small advantage to Blanchfield with his speed and hops.

So because the Hawks got Neville, that automatically means the 6'ers will not make the playoffs then of course they will then RIP?

Loathe as I am to agree with Marcus, he is right about the doomsayers. Effectively we have only lost DJ from last year's team, and whilst he had a good season, even an improved all around performance, he still had his weaknesses. Let's wait and see what happens before consigning us to the wooden spoon.

great signing and has me excited for the upcoming season, I want to see everyone live when they visit Auckland.

A really interesting range of centres this season, starting with the giants in Pledger, Nevill and Schenscher.

There's big guys who still have decent mobility in Gladness, Burston, Brandt, Jervis and Vanderjagt.

Mid-sized, highly-skilled centres in Davidson, Tragardh, Kickert and Duinker.

Then your highly-mobile undersized guys in Knight, Petrie, Ibekwe, Gruber and Macmillan.

The 36ers problem is they are a run and gun team but not a good rebounding team - not a good combination.

Great point regarding the diversity of five's (or at least guys who will see time at the five) in the league this year.

Match ups will prove interesting when there's clashes between teams who play the large, lumbering post dominant types against more mobile players.

Agree with the demise of Adelaide being significantly exaggerated, perhaps just a reaction to a lack of recruitment on their part when compared to other teams who have made wholesale changes or signed up marquee type players?

Montreal strikes me as a puzzling signing as he would appear to be below the talent standard that imports are bringing this year. I could be wrong though, anyone have more insight into what he brings to the table? SEABL stats? Is he likely to stick around or are we going to see another Massingale situation in Adelaide?

DQ for DJ
Jamar for Ervin
Crawford for Carter
Daly for Cadee

That's four fairly significant downgrades. I think in the finals series our best 3 players were DJ, Ervin and Carter.

And with every other team improving considerably in their roster, that's a really troubling sign for us.

I'm sure Joey wishes he had a higher budget to work with, but I think he's done alright considering and it's not out of the question that they could come together well as a team even if the list on paper seems unremarkable. If Creek keeps playing as he has, and Petrie and Gibson pick up some of the slack (definitely possible), I wouldn't be writing them off.

Ervin was 2 PPG ahead of Wilson last year, but at 39% FG to Jamar's 49%. I think that efficiency counts for something.

Offensively Montreal is a downgrade from DJ, but DQ will be an upgrade defensively. The reverse is true with Crawford for Carter.

I said a few months ago, the 36ers probably won't score as many points, how well they go will be determined by how much they improve defensively.

I think Wilson is copping a bit too much flak. If you look at his advanced stats from last season his PER was his highest it has been since he's been in the NBL. The problem was that he should've played more.

He's just an easy target for people wanting to bag the 36ers, calling him a "bench guard" even though the only person who believed that last year was his coach!

Wilson is a much better fit for Wright than Fearne, I see him pretty much as a like-for-like for Ervin except with greater efficiency.

Spot on Paul, Wilson plays his best when he's free and loose. As a coach Fearne discourages his players from playing freely, whereas Joey is a polar opposite. He'll probably bench you if you are playing within yourself.

The more transition opportunities/broken play Adelaide create, the better for Jamar.

Also, Ervin worked a great combo with Nevill in Townsville a few years back so that probably helps the Hawks if Carson gets off to a slow start.

Absolutely, Nevill isn't a three-point shooter but he's very good from mid-range so that fits with the Hawks line-up and style too.

Now they've got to figure out how to defend, and they've also gone from a high IQ team to a team built more around physical tools with Ervin, Carson, Hill and Nevill and without Clarke, Martin and Davidson.