Dedicated Hawks clubman 'Uncle Phil' adds OAM to long list of deserved honours

There are clear signs a person is loved by their sporting organisation.

Those signs could include longevity, an award named after them, a room named after them, a mural of them on the walls or they are the subject of a long-running practical joke.

Well, at the Illawarra Hawks, Phil Driscoll doesn’t just tick one of the boxes, he ticks them all. And it’s the last one which shows just how loved he is …

“The ongoing joke we have at the minute with Phil is he loves his tea, black tea with two sugars,” Hawks general manager of basketball operations Joe Tertzakian says.

“He has his own dedicated mug at the Snakepit and WEC and, as a group collectively, whenever we find that mug filled up and unattended, we empty it in the sink and put it back where it was.

“I mean, he could make upward of 10 cups a day as a result and his reaction when he finds it empty is priceless.”

It may sound odd to outsiders, but that treatment is only reserved for the most revered and valued individuals at a sporting club and there is no-one more loved at the Illawarra Hawks than the man known simply as “Uncle Phil”.

Driscoll has been with the region’s National Basketball League club since 1979 and his honours also include having the clubperson of the year award in his name, the club’s changerooms named in his honour in 2023, and recently a large mural was emblazoned on the wall of him accepting the Freeway Series Trophy triumphantly over Sydney on behalf of the team.

Now, the man who has also been a long and loyal servant of the St George Illawarra Dragons NRL club, has another tremendous honour and one which instils him as a true Illawarra sporting icon.

Phil has been recognised with an Order of Australia Medal in the 2025 Australia Day Honours List for his services to sports medicine via the Hawks, Dragons and Sports Medicine Australia.

“It’s been a hell of a journey,” Driscoll notes sitting on a plastic chair in the humble kitchen area at the back of the Snakepit, sans cup of tea.

“I started in the late 70s, early 80s, with the Hawks. But I came from a rugby league background, and I wanted to be able to help the guys on the field, because I’d finished playing anyway, the old sponge and bucket was out there.

“Paul Whiteman was the trainer for the Hawks when they first started and he took me under his wing and said, ‘Mate, you’ve got to go to uni’.

“So to have the first ever sports trainers’ course that went through, and I went and did it … loved it, absolutely loved it.”

Driscoll joined the Hawks in ‘79 and has been a sports trainer at the Dragons since 1999 and the Steelers before that from 1993.

“I’m blessed,” he said. “I’m still the last man standing at the Dragons from the people that went through when we merged. And I’ve been here [at the Hawks] for 100 years, but it feels like yesterday.”

It’s clear the OAM honour will take pride of place in Driscoll’s heart, alongside the naming of the Hawks’ changerooms in 2003, an initiative of then coach Jacob Jackomas.

“I was absolutely stunned, because I was going through – and I still am being treated for – cancer. I was so emotional. I just couldn’t talk,” Driscoll said.

“That’s made my respect for the club grow even more. And I can’t say enough good things about the owners, Jared [Novelly] and [partner] Naomi [Fitzgerald de Grave] and [club vice-chair] Terry [Egger] … this is the best ownership we’ve ever had.”

Over the years, the Hawks and Dragons relationship has enabled Driscoll to help both clubs as needed, including sharing some medical supplies.

“Yes, there’s been a bit of robbing Peter to pay Paul,” he admitted with a chuckle.

“The Dragons might be out of a box of tape, so I’ll grab one from here and take, but I do the same in reverse and it all gets put into the pot to help each other.

“This is the Illawarra, it’s how we roll.”

Driscoll paid particular mention to his role as a trainer and lecturer with Sports Medicines Australia, particularly the NSW branch.

“Particularly lecturing for them, that allows your growth to happen,” he said.

In terms of his cancer battle, Driscoll has been treated for over 18 months for a rare bone cancer, multiple myeloma, and while he will continue treatment for the rest of his life, he is beamingly happy.

“I went on this trial treatment, the first treatment itself, groundbreaking, apparently,” he said.

“And I’ve responded absolutely superbly to it. So they’re very, very happy with me.

“I’m so happy I can wake up in the morning and live my life and give something back to the community. That’s what it’s all about.”

In accepting the OAM honour, Driscoll paid special tribute to wife Caorlyn and children Tim and Katie who “didn’t see much of me”, and the many athletes he has worked with.

“I love looking after athletes. I love seeing them go from boys to men,” he said.

“I love seeing them mature like [Hawks cente] Sam Froling. When Sam first arrived, he was a baby, and now he’s the co-captain of the team. I really love being able to help them in a little way.”

But to perfectly summarise just who Phil Driscoll is and what he means to those around him, perhaps that is best left up to Tertzakian.

“I remember Phil missed his first ever game due to his treatment last season and he was devastated and crying because he felt he was letting the team down. We were all crying too,” Tertzakian said.

“Just the humility to feel that way when you have no business feeling that way. We’re your family; we’re going through it with you.

“For the Hawks’ organisation, front office, playing group, players, wives and partners and sponsors alike, I’ve never heard a bad word said about him.

“He’s the father figure to all of us, that calming influence … humility, empathetic. Just everything you want in a human being, isn’t it?”

It sure is. So, with the OAM, “Uncle Phil” becomes “Sir Phil”.

And someone better make him a fresh cup of tea.