KEY POINTS:
Harbour Heat coach John Dorge cuts an imposing figure as he paces the sideline of a basketball court.
The former Australian Olympian's hulking 2.09m frame (6ft 11in), close-cropped hair and stern demeanour suggest a man not to be trifled with. His glare is well known to officials who've
dared to give a 50-50 call against his side.
Dorge's counterpart in tonight's one-off NBL semi-final, Hawkes Bay's Shawn Dennis, may be a fellow Australian - but any similarity ends there. Shaggy-haired, goatee-bearded and comparatively diminutive at just 1.85m, Dennis could hardly be more different. While not shy of the occasional verbal outburst, Dennis tends to favour a softly-softly approach over finger waving.
"I often wonder what it must be like for a referee when [Dorge] stands over the top of them and glares down," muses Dennis. "It almost becomes the Of Mice and Men story: you're worried he's going to pick them up and start stroking them and say, 'Tell me about the rabbit'.
"He is a huge man. You wonder if he has got a baseball mitt on when he shakes your hand, he's that bloody big."
After spells as an assistant at Cairns Taipans and the Breakers, Dorge has enjoyed a dream debut season as a head coach, guiding the Heat to the top of the regular-season table with an impressive 14-4 (74 per cent) record.
But, as the guiding force of the defending champions, Dennis - who boasts a 54-22 (71 per cent) record over four years with the Hawks - is clearly the senior man.
It hasn't always been like that.
As a player, Dorge was a massive presence in the ANBL, compiling four titles during a 14-year career that saw him nominated for the league's Hall of Fame. He also went to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics with the Boomers.
Dennis fondly remembers an occasion when his Newcastle team got the better of Dorge's Melbourne - "about the only bloody time" - but the bulk of his 10-year playing career was as a back-up point guard.
"Towards the end of my career, I came to the realisation that I wasn't going to reach any great heights as a player, so I probably moved towards the coaching side of things a lot earlier than John - which I guess has given me more opportunities quicker," he says.
But Dorge has shown he could have what it takes to catch up. Quickly.
"He's a lot calmer as a coach than he was as a player. He was a very intense player at times. He seems to be a lot more laid back as a coach and, given the two years the Heat had with Steve Done, who is really full-on, I think John was the perfect fit.
"Steve helped to build that culture of hard work and they've been able to exploit that under John this year. It's really good to see him in coaching. He's done a great job with that group."
Perched alone at the back of the stand, his video camera trained on the action, Dennis was an interested spectator when the Heat dropped their final regular season game at home to Waikato. That his Hawks would eventually be drawn against the Heat in Sunday's semifinal was a long shot, at best - but Dennis isn't the sort of bloke to leave too many stones unturned.
"The thing I've really tried to take into coaching is a fantastic work ethic. The thirst for knowledge is, I guess, what pushes me along."
Dorge certainly wasn't surprised to see Dennis scouting his side. And, although they may have bested the Hawks twice this season already and will have home court advantage, he knows they will be up against it on Sunday.
"One thing about the Hawks is they know how to win. They have done that before, won a championship. We need to be at our best to get them."
The Heat have received some positive news on the prospects of injured Australian import Oscar Foreman. Reports from China suggest Foreman, who had been receiving treatment on an injured hamstring, may have played in the Boomers' last match. As well as his hamstring problem Foreman had been among a number of players laid low by a virus. He is due back in Auckland today.
Nelson travel to Waikato for the first semifinal, in Te Awamutu tomorrow night.
