IF he wasn't sure where exactly he fit into a new-look roster, Hawks sharpshooter got a quick lesson at the club's first weights session.
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At 27 years of the age the reigning club MVP is a self-described "tweener" charged with bridging the vast generation gap in the Hawks squad.
At 39 Dave Andersen will be the oldest player in the NBL this season having begun his professional career three years before 18-year-old rookie LaMelo Ball was even born.
Marquee signings Aaron Brooks and Josh Boone are both 34 with returning veterans Tim Coenraad (34) and AJ Ogilvy (31) making up the rest of the 30-plus brigade jokingly dubbed "Dad's Army" by coach Matt Flinn.
Ball lies at the other end of the spectrum alongside fellow teen sensation Sam Froling, while Emmett Naar, Daniel Grida and Sunday Dech are all under the age of 25.
It leaves Blanchfield the conduit, though he got a pretty quick lesson as to which side of the spectrum he leans early in the piece.
"I knew I'd made it into the old dogs group when we first hit the gym," Blanchfield said.
"The old guys lift first, the young guys lift second and I was put in the first group. That's how I got grouped with the old dogs but I'm kind of sitting on the fence.
"I guess I'm the tweener this year, we've got a lot of guys over 30, a lot of guys under 23 and I'm kind of in the middle at 27.
"We've got a lot of guys with experience like David Andersen, Josh Boone, Timmy Coenraad and all those young guys coming through so I think we've got a healthy balance.
"The young guys are really hungry. They want to set their mark on the league, get better and really earn their spot because we're 12-deep.
"It puts a really competitive edge on everything. I'm loving it and I think we're building towards something special this year."
He may not be a card-carrying member of the old dogs just yet, but he's certainly not young anymore either, with his first season with the Hawks indicating he's entering his prime.
It's not something he needs reminding of as he looks to bring a veteran mentality to his second year on Wollongong.
"My role will probably stay the same on the court, where it'll probably change is in being more of a leader off the floor," he said.
"This is my ninth year in the league now so I've played a few years now. Being one of the older guys this year I need to lead by example and that's something I'm looking forward to.
"I'm not the type of guy that's going to give a big speech before every game, I'd rather be a guy who leads by example at training, doing my extras, those sorts of things.
"I remember being a young guy looking at older guys who did that every day and thinking 'OK that's the benchmark'. I want to be one of those guys now."
He couldn't have offered much more on the court last season, shrugging off the 'role-player' tag he carried at previous clubs and emerging as the Hawks go-to. He's looking to build on that in his second campaign in the Gong.
"As a team we didn't reach the playoffs which was our team goal but from an individual standpoint I definitely got things I wanted to out of the year," he said.
"It definitely had it's ups and downs because, at the end of the day, the ultimate goal is to win and we didn't get as many wins as we would've liked.
"I think as a player I've really improved and developed that confidence and confidence is a hell of a drug. If you've got that confidence behind you you're going to back yourself and that's probably what I needed.
"I've always been known as just a catch-and-shoot guy from the perimeter but I think I can offer a little bit more than that and it's something I want to build on."