Holey wants to thank Norths with championship

Featured image: Aaron Camua | @aaron.camua

Since returning from college Lewis Holey has appreciated the Norths Bears community so much that all he has wanted to do is thank them with an NBL1 East championship and he gets that chance in Sunday's Grand Final against the Sutherland Sharks.

After spending four years in Chicago at the University of Saint Francis, Holey established such network there that he never wanted to leave, and in fact was trying to find ways to make sure he could stay.

However, once he was back in Sydney for the rest of 2022 and even though injury kept him from immediately playing for the Bears in the NBL1 East, he instantly knew he had made the right choice and there was no place like home.

Holey has now been a mainstay in the Norths team over the past four seasons, and while he might be playing a quarter as many minutes in 2026 as he was back in 2023, the fact that he's now part of a team that has reached a first NBL1 East Grand Final makes it all worthwhile.

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Holey still hasn’t forgotten that it was their opponents on Sunday, Sutherland, who ended their season after another top four finish back in 2023 as well while the Bears women went on to win the championship that same season.

Ever since, Holey has made it his mission to bring a men's championship to Norths as well and he couldn’t be more excited to have that chance on Sunday against the Sharks at Guzman y Gomez Stadium on the Central Coast.

"Honestly, it means everything to me and I think the fans that we get and to be able to win for them would be amazing," Holey said.

"Obviously our women have had a bit of success before and won it a few years ago and I've always felt like a bit of a chip on my shoulder that I haven’t been able to give that back to the club with the men's team.

"After every game, we've got all these kids who want you to sign their shirt or give you a high-five and they all know your name.

"Then even all the parents, the life members and the season ticket holders, they show up every game and they have been doing that for a while, and even when we lose, they give us pats on the back and still saying how much they enjoy coming to watch us play.

"To be able to repay them, even though they don't ask us to, with a championship I couldn’t really think of anything better and it would really culminate at least from my point of view what I've been trying to be part of over the last four years, and what the club has been trying to do in the NBL1."

Feelings after reaching Grand Final

After Norths finished the regular season in second spot with a 16-4 record, they were able to bounce back from losing to Sutherland in the last game of the regular season on the road to beating the Sharks on their home floor to lock away a home preliminary final.

The Bears then had to face a Central Coast Crusaders team riding a wave of momentum having sneaked into the finals in eighth position and then having a chance to play a Grand Final at home with just one more victory.

And with a team led by Matur Maker, the Crusaders were more than capable and Holey and the rest of the Bears were doing anything but taking them lightly, but to get the win in the end lock away a Grand Final sure was a good feeling.

"It was a bit of a funny one because we weren’t necessarily planning to play Central Coast given they were an eighth seed but they played great in the playoffs and deserved to make it, and going into that it was a bit of a wildcard," Holey said.

"They were a lower seed and we didn’t really know what to expect from them, but we were pretty happy with the way we played and stuck to our game plan, and the coaches had a great plan in place for us.

"Then when we got the win it was a pretty amazing feeling honestly. This is my fourth year here and last year we had a really good team and didn’t quite get there, but we've built off that this year and solidified who we are as a team, and have made it to the Grand Final.

"Everyone's pretty ecstatic honestly and that just is a credit to all our team. We're probably 14 or 15 deep, we've got a lot of depth and everyone has really bought in this year and there's no one sulking or anything in the corner if they aren’t playing the minutes they want to.

"We're all pretty happy with how we're performing as a team and if your name gets called you're ready to go, but other than that we're great support and teammates.

"So we're all ecstatic now that the combination of all our pre-season and season work has paid off, and here we are in the Grand Final with a chance to win it all."

Making sure one Norths team made it

The Norths men had a little bit of added pressure come their preliminary final at The Cave on Saturday night too given they had just seen their women's team lose to their old foes the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

The Bears had been undefeated all season up to that beat and then lost at the buzzer after a review where it was decided that the Sea Eagles did get the game winning shot off before time expired.

While Holey and the rest of the Norths men's team didn’t try to let that affect their mindset for their own game with the Crusaders, come the end of the night it was a relief to have made sure both teams hadn’t missed out on winning home preliminary finals.

"It was a little bit of a surprise especially with that game finishing in a bit dramatic fashion too and with it being against Manly with the heated rivalry that we have," Holey said.

"Look, it was a bit unfortunate for the girls and I know they are absolutely devastated that it didn’t go their way, but I supposed from our point of view, we couldn’t afford to get sucked into that.

"If anything, we thought alright, let's learn from this and make sure we stick to our game plan, stay locked in and don't take anything for granted.

"It wasn’t a good thing for the Norths women's team, but it almost boosted us even more because we had to get this done for the club and make sure we tick all our boxes and get across the line. It wouldn’t have been terrible if we both missed out."

Taking pride in being all Aussie team

What Holey continues to love about being part of this Norths team of 2026 is how tight of a unit they are.

Whether that's NBL championship winners like Fabijan Krslovic, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk and Hunter Goodrick, or the core group including Bailey Hanson, Jake Weinstein, Matthew Wacher and Iggy Mitchell, everyone's right on the same page.

When you bring in players like Swaka Lo Buluk or Krslovic given their resumes, even though Krslovic is a Norths product, Holey is fully aware that given they are professional basketballers, sometimes what they are doing in their NBL1 team isn't their main priority.

But that hasn’t been the case with anyone on this Bears team and Holey gives a lot of that credit to coach Tom Garlepp for building a squad who he knew would mesh so well.

"We're an all Aussie team too which is great and I think also when you're bringing in guys from a higher level like Fab, Goody and Wani, it can go each way," Holey said.

"Sometimes those sort of guys could think they are top stuff and don't have to put in the work in NBL1, but not these guys. They are absolute professionals, they come to practice and every game with a mindset of helping our team get better today.

"On top of that, we have a whole bunch of really good blokes and I would say we genuinely care about each other. We form these relationships off the court which just makes us stronger on the court and it really does show with the way we play, and the way we celebrate each other.

"Bringing in guys can always be a question if it will be good or bad for your chemistry, but I've got to give the credit to TG for bringing in the right guys.

"He's made a team of great chemistry and great understanding that these are the guys he wants and the style we want to play, and I think we've really excelled in that capacity.

"I also have to toot my horn to our leaders too like Fabs, Goody and Wani coz they really do lead from the front and they're great on the court, but just as great off the court with all the other stuff too."

Happy to now be settled in Sydney

When Holey initially returned home to Sydney from college, he started working in the supply chain world and then for the past 12 months basketball has become more of a focus in between doing some modelling, movie extra work and basketball coaching to keep busy.

He is now about to start a new job too once this NBL1 East season is done as an e-commerce coordinator where he can get stuck into some marketing work that he enjoys.

But in the big picture, with the community he is part of at Norths and how much he's enjoying his basketball, the lifestyle he gets to live in Sydney, and now with a new job on horizon, the 32-year-old powerhouse doesn't have too many complaints.

"I guess life's interesting and has its ups and downs, but I'm in a bit of an up at the moment and when I lived in America, I was in Chicago and didn’t know if I wanted to come home because I loved it there and had a great network," Holey said.

"Then after about a month of being home I felt so lucky to be living in Sydney so it really flipped and I love being at a club like Norths where we're right in the middle of Sydney and I live just around the corner, and the beaches is right there, the city is right there and everything's pretty close.

"Then the whole community that we have around Norths is quite amazing and has been a solidifying foundation for me that I can lean on these people who care about me.

"I haven’t worked for the last year, but no one has been negative or anything towards me, everyone around the club has been so supportive and I'm very lucky to play for Norths and to live in Sydney.

"It's a beautiful sunny day and life feels good, and it makes you feel a little bit invincible. This sport of basketball is one that you love and hate sometimes, but it really does help you be part of a community and it's crazy how the game has taken me across the world, brought me back and it's kept me in shape physically and mentally."