Luke Pople is gearing up for one of the biggest games of his life on Sunday, but he'll have no say in the outcome. As graphic designer and social media guru for the Illawarra Hawks, the last six months have been a ride like no other, culminating in a do or die Game 5 decider at the WIN Entertainment Centre (WEC). 

“This is my fifth season with the Hawks and getting close to the playoffs, then close to the championship series, it’s a different beast being in the big dance and now that it’s gone to five games it’s pretty hectic, but definitely enjoyable,” said Pople. 

 

Pople has the best seat in the house, right next to the Hawks’ bench, ready to keep the team’s social media followers up to date on every twist and turn.

“Half the game I don’t even watch them, I’m trying to get highlights and and update things but I wouldn’t want to be sitting anywhere else and I get all the inside goss from JT on the sideline.”

This year’s Championship Series has been extraordinary for the fact that in every game the home team has lost, something the Hawks will be looking to bring to an end come Sunday.

“What I take out from the Hawks and see in the Roller Hawks is they’re a really close, tight knit group. Having been through adversity the last couple of years, going from the bottom to the top, it’s about staying positive, staying around the group. Work hard, train hard and you’ll get the job done at the end of the day.”

Regardless of Sunday’s result, being part of the Hawks journey has added fuel to the fire of his own basketball career as preparations for the 2025 NWBL season ramp up.

Not that extra fuel is needed. Last year’s Paralympics was the realisation of a dream two decades in the making, and he’s determined to achieve it again. 

“Now that I have got a taste for Paralympic basketball,  I’m not satisfied with just one Paralympics, my plan is to do whatever I can to make sure I get selected for LA,” said Pople.

The assertion comes after returning to Wollongong and seeing his name unveiled on the Illawarra Tribute Wall, which he drives past every time the Hawks are at the WEC, honouring every Olympian and Paralympian to have represented Australia from the Illawarra.

“It’s pretty surreal seeing my name next to the athletes that have represented Australia from the Illawarra. Knowing that it’s going to be carved there forever is pretty special.”


The Tribute Wall was built following the Sydney 2000 Olympics but has only included Paralympians since 2020. Following Tokyo, a campaign was launched to track down Paralympians from the region dating back to the first Games in 1960 to be retrospectively added to the wall.

Pople’s name sits alongside six other 2024 Paralympians including fellow Roller Hawk Tristan Knowles.

The 2025 NWBL season will run from June through to August and it will be a busy year for the Australian squad despite it not being a Paralympic or World Championship year.

The Rollers already have one camp under their belt this year and are pencilled in for another in April before a selection camp in September ahead of the Asia Oceania Qualifiers in November for the 2026 World Championships to be held in Ottawa, Canada.

The disappointment of the Rollers result in Paris is more than enough motivation for Pople to put in the hard yards and remain in contention for future selection in the green and gold. 

Losses to the Netherlands and Spain forced a must win game against the USA in their final pool match to avoid being the bottom seed in Group B, but a seven point loss to the Americans resulted in a quarter final match against Great Britain who topped Group A.

The 64-84 loss to Team GB left Australia in the 5th-8th playoff bracket. The tournament’s early losses to Spain and the Netherlands were compounded by the fact Australia would beat those two teams in subsequent play-off games.

“We wanted to medal and we aren’t happy with fifth. We know we can compete with the best teams in the world, we have things to work on, we have the right players, we just have to put it all together.” 

“⁠Reflecting back on being at the Paralympics, it still doesn’t feel like it happened because it went so fast. Saying that, I had a great experience and it’s a memory that’s going to stick with me,” said Pople.