Illawarra Hawks forward Todd Blanchfield speaks to Illawarra Mercury reporter Agron Latifi about his time and future at the Illawarra Hawks.
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00:00You've been the lead for 16 seasons now, you've spent five years at the Hawks previously, what would it mean to cap it off so far?
00:08I know you've still got some years left to go, but cap it off for the Championship this season?
00:11I mean I think it would be the cherry on top.
00:13You know we obviously made history with finishing on top of the regular season, which you know it's the first time Hawks have ever done that,
00:19which is a big deal and it's pretty special to this group but you know the job's not even close to being done.
00:23You know we've got to take care of business in the semi-final, we took care of business at home, which is what did our jobs.
00:28So now we've got an outfit coming in that are playing very good basketball, obviously they've got guys stepping up every which way
00:35and it's obviously that was a big series win for them.
00:37So yeah we have home court advantage, hopefully that's the difference,
00:40but yeah I think for this group to be able to win the Championship would really, I think as I said, be the cherry on top.
00:44And there is a couple of guys in this group who've been at the Hawks for a while, Tyler Harvey, Craig Foley,
00:49they've been here when times have been tough and now it'd be a nice reward for them also to win the Championship wouldn't it?
00:55Yeah for sure, as you said they've kind of been here through I guess the low of the lows and now they're at the other end of the spectrum now.
01:01So yeah it's, as I said, special as a group as a whole, it's a really tight knit group, it's a really close group
01:07and it's a lot of fun to be around, you know, win, lose or draw guys turning up competing day in day out.
01:12So you know it's been good and it's, as I said, to have a group like that that turns up after a loss and competes the way we do,
01:19it goes to show how much this group really does want to win, you know, it's that competitive edge.
01:22So, you know, last year we fell a little short, hopefully, as I said, hopefully home court is different this year and we can take care of business.
01:29From United, they're a star side of side, they've enjoyed success over a long period,
01:36what is it going to take for a Hawks team to beat a club that knows how to win?
01:41Yeah I feel like they've obviously been in the finals, you know, semi-finals, grand finals for I don't know how many years in a row now
01:47and it's a testament to that club, you know, they've obviously been a successful club since they've changed to Melbourne United
01:53and it's, you know, I think it's good for the league.
01:56So yeah, obviously they've been there, they've got experienced bodies, but I think, I feel as long as the series goes,
02:02I think it goes in our favour, you know, we're able to play 1 through 11, we've got some younger bodies in a way
02:07and I think if it drags out to five games, as I said, I think the longer the series goes, it goes in our favour.
02:13But at the same time, they've obviously got, you know, stars in Chris and Ian Clarke who are obviously shooting the ball
02:18and scoring the ball extremely well right now and everyone else sort of feeds off those two,
02:21so I think those two are sort of ahead of the snake, you can sort of take care of that and hopefully the rest will follow.
02:25And Chris, for yourself, I know you've signed on with the Illawarra NBL on one side,
02:30so it looks like you're sort of making roots here, is that right?
02:34Yeah, I mean, we've got a second baby due any day now, any hour, I'm not sure when it is, it's sort of on standby,
02:40so it's just, yeah, I mean, I love Illawarra, I've spent a solid chunk of my career here now
02:45and I guess I thought it was time to hang around and see what the winter's like.