NBL EXPERIENCE

Rick Fowle made his NBL debut with the Illawarra Hawks on 12/2/1984. He scored 13 points in his first game.

Illawarra reset with captain Gordie McLeod returning from Sydney to run the show under Charlie Ammit—significantly, the first time a Hawks coach was retained for back-to-back seasons.

With former MVP Michael Jones heading overseas, the club opened by pairing returning import Jerry Steurer with new seven-footer David McGuire, while Rick Fowle and Michael Roodenrys came in to cover the departures of Simon Cottrell (to Hobart) and Brett Flanigan (to Sydney).

The Snakepit roared on opening day as Illawarra routed the Supersonics 119–93, led by McLeod’s orchestration (24 points, 8 assists, 4 boards, 3 steals), Steurer’s all-around line (22 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists), Tim Morrissey’s slashing (18 points, 8 rebounds) and McGuire’s interior presence (14 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks). Fowle (13 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals) was also impressive in his Hawks debut.

A three-game slide followed before the Hawks reset at home against St Kilda, winning 97–84 behind McLeod (21 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, 5 steals), Morrissey (22 points, 8 rebounds) and Steurer (19 points, 12 rebounds). Fowle (14 points and 4 steals) producing another solid game for the Hawks.

Ten games in at 5–5, Illawarra then made a call to release McGuire (16.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.1 blocks) and replace him with former NBA forward Marlon Redmond (29.1 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists across 15 games). Redmond detonated on debut—45 points and 17 rebounds in a 107–103 win over Perth—with Steurer (23 points and 9 boards), McLeod (10 points and 12 assists) playing key roles. Fowle (6 points, 5 rebounds and a steal) also making a number of key plays in the win.

From there the identity clicked: Redmond’s gravity bent coverages, McLeod (15.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 2.4 steals) controlled tempo, Steurer (23.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.9 steals) provided consistent two-way production, and Morrissey (18.7 points, 6.6 rebounds) delivered a breakout season. Rick Fowle (9.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists) was a solid defensive presence as Illawarra finished 13–12—the club’s first winning record—and qualified for the playoffs for the first time. Their run ended in the following game however, a loss to Newcastle (101–108) in the Elimination Finals. Redmond (31 points, 11 rebounds), Steurer (21 points, 9 rebounds), Morrissey (20 points) and McLeod (14 points, 14 assists) all having solid games, but weren’t strong enough to stop Ian Davies (26 points) and Michael Johnson (23 points and 8 rebounds) from getting the win for the Falcons. Fowle (2 points) struggling to make an impact in the final game.

Rick Fowle played one season in the NBL. He averaged 9.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 25 NBL games.