Alex Moore and Scott Muttdon during the Championship series against Melbourne last season. Photo: Joel Armstrong, Illawarra Hawks.
They don’t hit threes, they don’t throw down dunks. But when the Illawarra Hawks stormed their way to an NBL championship last season, two of the biggest reasons weren’t even in uniform.
They were behind the bench … flexing biceps, fixing bodies and building trust.
Meet Scott Muttdon (Mutts) and Alex Moore: the Hawks’ elite strength and conditioning duo who, according to just about everyone inside the locker room, are the quiet architects of the club’s rise.
“I like to think we’re not really a secret,” Muttdon laughs. “We stand out behind the bench. And honestly, if you put every S&C and medical staff in the league in a room and made them fight to the death? We’d win easily.”
He’s (probably) joking.
But it’s clear these two aren’t just good at their jobs; they’re essential to the Hawks’ success.
Muttdon has been with the Hawks for over a decade, first as head physio, now as head of medical, coordinating everything from rehab to recovery to mental health support. He’s the man players trust when their careers are on the line.
And they really trust him.
“We tell the guys: we’re more than happy to make you uncomfortable, but we’ll never put you in harm’s way,” Muttdon says. “That trust is everything.”
It’s not just talk. Players like Dan Grida and Sam Froling have publicly credited Muttdon and Moore as key reasons they’ve stuck with the Hawks, even through injuries and uncertainty.
“Grida’s had two years of setbacks. Every time it felt like a gut punch to all of us,” Muttdon says. “But he never took a day off. We were in the trenches with him.”
If Muttdon is the quiet glue guy, then Moore is the … well… built-like-a-tank, walks-into-any-stadium-looking-like-a-Marvel-character guy.
“He’s the only bloke in the NBL who actually looks like a strength coach,” Muttdon says, grinning. “He’s a walking example of what the players aspire to be.”
But Moore isn’t just muscle. With a CV that spans the Cleveland Cavaliers, the US Ski Team, North Melbourne AFL and the Waratahs, he brings elite insight and calm control.
“He never looks rushed,” says Muttdon. “There’s no ego. No bravado. Just a mountain of knowledge and a total calm. He’s got this presence that sets the tone.”
Their partnership, forged over Zoom during COVID, now forged in fire through multiple campaigns, is seamless. So seamless, in fact, that when travelling with the team, they’d rather room together than be apart.
“We joke that we’re better together,” Muttdon says. “We know what needs to be done… nothing even has to be said anymore.”
It’s easy to focus on the gym sessions or injury reports, but what makes this pairing special is their humanity.
They know the players. Their moods, their triggers, their families. They know when to push and when to back off. They build bodies, yes, but they also build belief.
Together, they bring complementary strengths — Moore with his elite global experience, Muttdon with his clinical precision and deep connection to local players.
“There’s no ego,” Moore says.
“We both know what the other is thinking before anything needs to be said.”
And that relationship-first approach flows straight into the locker room.
“It starts with fun,” Moore says. “The energy here is always positive and it comes from caring about them as people first, not just players.”
“That’s the big difference,” Muttdon adds.
“We know their moods, their triggers. We track how they move, sure … but we also check in on how they are.”
“Some days, the best session is letting a guy go home early,” Moore says.
Both men are deeply embedded in the Illawarra community.
Muttdon grew up in Kiama. Moore, originally from the area, moved back during COVID after years working overseas and hasn’t looked back.
“We had a house here, my mum was nearby… and we just knew this was home,” Moore says.
“This region’s tough. It’s proud. And now the team reflects that.”
Last year, as the Hawks built momentum, Moore says the moment he knew something special was happening didn’t come during a win… but after a loss.
“We’d lose a game and no-one panicked. We just knew: we’re good enough to bounce back,” he says. “That confidence, it was real.”
Even in the championship series, that belief never wavered.
“At no point did anyone think we were done,” Moore says. “And the longer the series went, I felt we had the edge — younger legs, better fitness, more resilience.”
So … who IS the secret weapon? Muttdon? Moore? The truth is, they’d never claim that title.
“There’s probably no secret weapon,” Moore says, smiling.
“It’s the whole environment. The whole program. We just play our part.”
That said, if it did come down to a head-to-head between every S&C unit in the league, well … Moore offers a succinct response: “We’d smash ’em,” he says, grinning.
No bravado. Just belief. Like the team they’ve built from the ground up.
Want to see what all the hard work leads to? The Illawarra Hawks take on the Tasmanian Jackjumpers in their first home game of #NBL26 on Saturday, 27 September at the WIN Entertainment Centre from 8 pm. The game will also feature a ceremony to hang the Hawks’ latest Championship banner from the rafters. Click here to buy tickets. Memberships are still available here.
