The Hawks will be hoping Todd Blanchfield's second coming at the club is just as successful as his first.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Blanchfield was named the Illawarra's most valuable player in the two seasons he played in Wollongong.
Though on a team front the Hawks missed out on the finals in the 2018/19 and 2019/20 NBL seasons, winning only five of 33 games in the latter campaign under Matt Flynn.
The Hawks are coming off a similarly disappointing season but Blanchfield is confident the group put together by coach Jacob Jackomas has what it takes to challenge for the title this season.
Illawarra will get an early test of their credentials when they battle rivals and back-to-back NBL champions Sydney Kings in their season opener on Saturday night at WIN Entertainment Centre.
"Everyone is looking forward to Saturday, so far it's been a good week of preparation," Blanchfield said.
"I've been part of the Hawks v Kings rivalry in the past so I'm expecting a lot.
"They're obviously back-to-back champions. Whenever you win a championship, let alone back-to-back titles, you are always going to have a target on your back.
"And then on top of that, the Illawarra and Sydney rivalry is a cool thing to be a part of, it's physical, it's an up and down game, it's a high level game of basketball. There's not a better way to start.
"We've had a pretty good pre-season across the board, we've really taken some big steps forward and I think it's gonna go a long way to us getting a win on Saturday."
The 375-game NBL veteran Blanchfield, who has also played for the Townsville Crocodiles, Sydney Kings, Melbourne United and Perth Wildcats, says the current Hawks squad is stacked, with all 12 players genuine NBL quality players.
"The fact that you can have one through 12 that can sort of play on any given night is a good problem to have," he said.
"The way we want to play you need those extra guys, you need those extra bodies.
"I think that sort of showed early in the pre-season when we didn't have J-Rob, we had Davo stepping up at that point-guard spot and then J-Robb comes back and obviously different guys play less minutes, but that's just the way we play, you could one night play 35 minutes, the next night you play 15, 10 minutes.
"There's foul troubles and there's injuries and those sorts of things that can happen in games, so to have that luxury of having one through 12, I think it's going to go a long way in us, hopefully going deep in the season."
Blanchfield averaged almost 14 points and almost 28 minutes a game in his previous stint with the Hawks but goes into this campaign happy to do what's needed to help Illawarra win.
"I'm 31 now but it's just a number, the way my body feels and I've learnt a lot the last two or three years what I need to do to perform on a day-to-day basis," he said.
"Obviously not playing a lot last year really was a good chance for my body to recover as it doesn't have the niggles and wear and tear that it would normally.
"Whatever my role is, whether it's coming in and play 30 minutes or three minutes, it doesn't really matter.
"We're all just happy for our teammates' success. At the end of the day we're judged whether we've got a W or an L next to our name as a group.
"So if we come away with a win, that's the ultimate goal.
"We're all basketball players that can all play at this level and we all want to play but at the same time in team sports like basketball you've got to be able to make that sacrifice for one another and enjoy each others' success.
"One night you might play three minutes, the next night you might play 15, you might play 30 minutes. Whatever the case is just know your teammate is going to be out there waving the towel, cheering you on just like you are when you're sitting there watching them and they're doing well."
Our news app has had a makeover, making it faster and giving you access to even more great content.
Download The Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store and Google Play
Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
