NICKNAME/S: Vinnie Chase, Vinnie, Toddy

BIO: Born and raised in Mackay, Blanchfield attended Mackay State High School where he had success with schoolboys basketball, being selected in his first state team when he was in Year 7 and was part of Mackay representative team’s from under 12s.

In 2007, Blanchfield played his first season with the QBL’s Mackay Meteors and was a valuable part of the team, despite being just 15 years old.

. Blanchfield received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 2008. He spent two years year there and played for the program’s state league team (2008).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Todd Blanchfield made his NBL debut with the Townsville Crocodiles at 17 years of age. He scored one point in his first NBL game.

The Townsville Crocodiles signed Blanchfield as a development player in July 2009 after impressive stints with the Mackay Meteors in the QBL (2007, 2009-10) and the Australian Institute of Sport (2008).

He made 10 appearances and averaged 1.1 points over the season, at a average of just 3.7 minutes per game, averaging a touch over one point in each contest for the Crocodile’s, who finished in second place during the regular season with a record of 16 wins, 12 losses.

2010/11
Blanchfield’s ten appearances as a development player were enough to convince the Crocs to invest in the young Queenslander, awarding him with a three-year contract at the conclusion of the 2010/11 season. His second season saw his minutes jump up to 10 per game and as a result his numbers improved to 2.6 points and 1.5 rebounds. The added production helping the Crocodiles again finish in second place during the regular season with a 17-11 record.

2011/12
After losing in the semifinals for three straight years under coach Trevor Gleeson, the Crocodiles chose to move in a different direction, replacing him with US coach Paul Woolpert. Townsville also chose to move on from imports Will Blalock and Rosell Ellis, replacing them with former NBA guard Eddie Gill and Elvin Mims. The team retained the majority of their local roster from the previous season, the only major change being Jacob Holmes (via Adelaide) and Townsville junior Mitchell Norton replacing Nathan Crosswell (to Adelaide) and the retiring Brad Williamson.

Just prior to the season kicking off, Russell Hinder would suffer a broken leg that would see his sidelined for the entire NBL season. Greg Vanderjagt, who was unable to make an NBL roster the season before, signed on as a late replacement.

Peter Crawford (14.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists) and import Eddie Gill (13.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists) led the way statistically, but a breakout season from Todd Blanchfield (7.2 points and 3.3 rebounds), which took him from the end of the bench to being a member of the starting unit, gave the Crocodiles a completely different look. Blanchfield saw his minutes double from 9.7 to 21.3 per game and his ability to space the floor (shooting 47% from the field) made it far easier for frontcourt players Jacob Holmes (10.4 points, 9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists), Luke Schenscher (10.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists) and Mims (9.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals) to score in the paint.

Townsville floated between third and fifth spot all season but a late season slump, where they lost the final two games of the season, dropped them to equal fourth place, equal to record to the Cairns Taipans (15-13). With Townsville and Cairns also having a 2-2 record in their head to head match-ups, Townsville’s higher points percentage gave them the final playoff spot and dropped Cairns into fifth place.

Under the guidance of head coach Shawn Dennis, Townsville faced off against first seed New Zealand in the semifinals, comfortably winning game one (99-82) on the Breakers home court. Despite the Crocodiles strong form in game one, the Breakers evened the series in game two (83–94) at Townsville, before closing out the series in 17-point win in game three (97–80). New Zealand would go on to defeat Perth in the Grand Final series.

2012/13
During the 2012/13 season, Blanchfield averaged 9.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 0.6 assists as the Crocodiles finished in seventh place finish with a 10-18 record.

2013/14
In 2013, Barrier Reef Basketball relinquished its ownership of Townsville’s NBL license, putting the Crocodile’s’ 2013/14 season in doubt. the Crocodiles would, however, manage to stay afloat with the team moving from an owner-operated model to a community-owned club. This resulted in head coach Paul Woolpert not being retained, and Perth Wildcats assistant Shawn Dennis signed as his replacement.

Dennis made the decision to focus on giving opportunities to the team’s younger talent, namely Todd Blanchfield and Mitchell Norton, whom he hoped to build a roster around over the next two or three seasons.

Veterans Peter Crawford, Jacob Holmes and team captain Russell Hinder all returned, and in a major signing for the club, added Steven Markovic, an Australian Boomers squad member who had spent the previous few seasons playing in Europe. Lastly, imports Joshua Pace and Brian Conklin were brought in to round out the roster.

Townsville had found quite a talent in Conklin, who scored 33 points in his second game, a win over the New Zealand Breakers (91–78). It was the second-highest score by a Crocs player since 40-minute games were introduced into the NBL in 2010. Despite being unanimously selected to finish in last place, Townsville recorded upset wins over top teams Melbourne (90-75) and Adelaide (98-94) to start the season, defeated New Zealand twice and by round 10 they sat just outside the playoffs in fifth spot.

With Pace (14.9 points, 5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists) and Markovic (13.4 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 4.6 assists) both failing to deliver what Townsville had expected and with the team’s inexperienced beginning to show, the team lost their next eight games in a row.

Despite the losses, Conklin (16.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists) was a revelation for the club, using his strength and speed to overcome any height disadvantage and finishing in the top seven scorers in the league. His impact was clearly felt after the team lost him to a hamstring injury against the Melbourne Tigers, which kept him out of the team’s last four games of the season.

Townsville finished second last on the ladder with a record of 10-18, while Conklin’s efforts were rewarded with him being named part of the All-NBL Second Team.

Blanchfield would appear in all 28 games for the Crocodiles, averaging 11.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game.

2014/15
Townsville were able to secure the services of star import Brian Conklin for another season, and together with the development of young players like Todd Blanchfield and Mitchell Norton looked to improve in Shawn Dennis’ second year as coach. Veterans Peter Crawford (Adelaide) and Russell Hinder (Retired) were not re-signed, and underperforming import Joshua Pace was replaced with former NBA shot blocker Mickell Gladness.

Dennis replaced the outgoing Crawford and Hinder withMackay product Clint Stiendl and New Zealand born Leon Henry.

While Townsville became quite a force at home, they were never able to win consistently on the road. Townsville’s home success saw the team finish with a winning home record (8-6) for the first time since 2012, but due to finishing with only three wins on the road all season (11-17 record).

High spots for the season included Blanchfield (14.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists ) receiving high-profile recognition across the league and even appearing on a number of NBA radars after winning the NBL’s Most Improved Player and earning a spot on the All-NBL Second Team. Conklin (18.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) delivered an even better second season with the Crocodile’s. He shot 50.7 per cent shooting from the field and finished fourth in the league in scoring, including a 33 point and 11 rebound effort in a 79–75 loss to the Cairns Taipans. Conklin finished the season being named the NBL’s Most Valuable Player as well as earning a spot on the All-NBL First Team.

MELBOURNE UNITED
2015/16
Melbourne re-signed Daniel Kickert, added the Most Improved Player from last season, Todd Blanchfield (via Townsville) and were able to entice Chris Goulding, who had spent the previous season in Spain, to return to the club.

Kickert delivered an incredible season, coming oh so close to becoming the first NBL player ever to join the exclusive 50–40–90 club. Kickert did reach the required splits—finishing the season with figures of 52.5/47.2/90.5—but fell four made free throws short of the minimum requirements.

Melbourne finished the season in first place (18-10) with Kickert (14.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) earning All-NBL First Team honours.

Despite the strong finish under new coach Dean Demopoulos, the team lost to New Zealand in the semifinals, falling short in two straight games.

Blanchfield would appear in 30 games and averaging 9.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 0.9 assists.

2016/17
With the league allowing three import players per team this season, Melbourne replaced import duo Stephen Holt and Hakim Warrick with Cedric Jackson, Ramone Moore and Devin Williams. They essentially signed a fourth import by then adding Tai Wesley (via New Zealand) who was allowed to sign as a local under the asian player rule and swapped one Boomers big man for another with David Anderson (via Europe) replacing Daniel Kickert (to Sydney).

In coach Dean Demopoulos second season, United started poorly (3-7) and Jackson (10.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.4 steals) quickly being shown the door due to a poor attitude and failing to buy into the team’s defensive principals.

Casper Ware arrived as his replacement shortly after, immediately changing the squad’s direction.

Around this time, Chris Goulding (17.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.0 steals), who missed six games with ankle issues, began to find his form, and David Barlow (5.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists), returned from a calf injury that had seen him unable to take the court at all for the past two years.

Behind Ware (22.1 points, 4.5 assists, and 1.3 steals) and a healthy roster, United turned things around, winning 10 of their last 18 games.

With the team still capable of reaching the playoffs, Devin Williams (3.2 points and 4.0 rebounds), who surprisingly lasted 16 games before being cut after media and fans pointed out his lack of production and called for an import change for most of the season. With a third of the season remaining, Josh Boone (10.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks) arrived and quickly went to work cleaning up Ware and Goulding’s missed shots and finished as the league’s best rebounder. Minute for minute, there was no more effective player than Josh Boone, who finished as Melbourne’s best player in several advanced metrics, including PER, ORtg, DRtg, eFG%, TRB%, and BLK%.

While he avoided the same fate Jackson suffered, Ramone Moore (10.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.0 assists) didn’t deliver the type of impact expected of an import either.

Injuries and offensive meltdowns were the storylines this season. Tai Wesley (8.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists) and Majok Majok (5.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks) were the only two players to compete in all 28 games for United, and coupled with the import turnover, only six players suited up for at least 75% of games. Combine this with the fact that Melbourne finished with the second-worst true shooting percentage in the league and was just 2-5 in games decided by five points.

Ware earned a place in the All-NBL First Team despite playing 18 games, and this combined with United’s strong finish many fans were excited about what the future could bring. This was shown by the almost-capacity crowd of 9,545 showing up at Melbourne’s last home game despite the team having nothing to play for.

In Demopoulos’ second year as head coach, he would struggle managing player relationships, and by the end of the season, it was public knowledge his relationship with certain players wasn’t ‘civil’. A divide between the veterans of the team and the ever-competitive Demopoulos would result in seeing United unable to replicate the success from the previous season, finishing in sixth-place finish (13-15) and both parties moving on at the end of the season.

Blanchfield would deliver another season that failed to deliver on the expectations associated with being a NBA prospect two years eariler. He appeared in 22 games and averaged 8.8 points, 4 rebounds, and 0.5 assists for the season.

SYDNEY KINGS
2017/18
Prior to signing with Melbourne United Blanchfield was on a number of NBA team’s radar’s but a lack of playing time and production saw that window close which prompted ‘Blanch’ to sign with the Sydney Kings in hopes of more opportunities and to hopefully regain his previous form.

While putting up solid averages of 9 points, 4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and a steal on 41 percent shooting from the field the Kings would finish second bottom with a record of 11-17 as Blanchfield’s former side Melbourne United won the NBL championship.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS
2018/19
After falling short of making the playoffs by only a few games in 2018, the Hawks lost several key players: Demitrius Conger (to Serbia), Rotnei Clarke (to Greece), Nicholas Kay (to Perth), Delvon Johnson (to Slovakia), and Cody Ellis and Rhys Martin, who both retired. The team retained AJ Ogilvy, Tim Coenraad, Nic Pozoglo and team captain Kevin Whiteu, and strengthened their roster by adding Jordair Jett (via NZNBL), Brian Conklin (via France), and Cedric Jackson (via USA), alongside rookies Emmett Naar and Daniel Grida.

Illawarra had a rollercoaster start to the season, which began with a dramatic quadruple-overtime thriller against Melbourne in the opening round, eventually falling short (122–123). This heartbreaking loss was followed by a heavy defeat at the hands of Perth, losing in Perth (101–61). Despite these early setbacks, Illawarra secured a strong win against Cairns in Round 2, defeating them on the road (104–93). A brief two-game win streak later in October saw the Hawks secure victories against Brisbane (86–78) and Adelaide (120–109), momentarily seeing them sit in fifth place. However, inconsistency plagued the team, and they later endured a four-game losing streak in November, including defeats to Perth (90–81), Sydney (81–90), and Adelaide (104–79). Despite showing flashes of potential, the Hawks couldn’t maintain a consistent level of play, missing the playoffs with a 12-16 record.

After a single season with the Kings, Todd Blanchfield headed up the freeway to Illawarra for his tenth year in the NBL. With his move to the Hawks, he was back to some of his best scoring numbers and saw a boost in almost every major statistic compared to his previous seasons with Melbourne and Sydney. Blanchfield (13.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists) delivered a strong season for the Hawks, setting a new career high with 32 points, along with 7 rebounds and 2 assists, against Cairns (21 Oct 2018). He also delivered a 27-point, 7-rebound, and 2-assist effort against New Zealand (18 Jan 2019) and a 26-point, 7-rebound, and 4-assist performance in the season opener against Melbourne (12 Oct 2018).

Blanchfield also shot a career-best 48 percent from the field and 41 percent from the three-point line, with his perimeter scoring playing a key role for the Hawks. For his efforts, he was named the Hawks’ club MVP at season’s end as the team finished in seventh place with a record of 12 wins and 16 losses.

Alongside Blanchfield, Illawarra was led offensively by Brian Conklin (14.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists), Jordair Jett (11.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists), and AJ Ogilvy (9.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists).

Despite strong individual performances throughout the year, the Hawks couldn’t find the consistency to break into the top four during one of the most competitive seasons in NBL history.

2019/20
In the 2019/20 season the Hawks were the talk of the basketball world after signing LaMelo Ball to a Next Stars contract, aimed at helping him develop his game prior to the NBA Draft. Although Ball would only play until mid-season (12 games), Blanchfield would play a key role in the development of the young but still raw guard. The two formed a close bond off the court, with Blanchfield often going into bat for the then 18-year-old as he came to grips with the professional game.

Ball’s impact was seen when on 24 October 2019, with the Hawks taking on the New Zealand Breakers, which featured fellow Next Star talent RJ Hampton became the most watched game in NBL history with nearly two million views globally on Facebook.

While ‘Melo’ averaged 17 points. 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals in 31 minutes per game, Blanchfield averaged 13.3 points, 4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists to form a one-two punch for the Hawks offence. For all the media attention the Hawks garnered with LaMelo on the roster, this did not translate into team success with Illawarra finishing with the worst record in the league, mustering only 5 wins for the season. Blanchfield would be named the Hawks club MVP for the second year in a row while Melo would take home the NBL Rookie of the Year award and set off to begin his career in the NBA.

PERTH WILDCATS
2020/21
After winning the previous season’s Grand Final after Sydney withdrew from the remaining two games due to COVID-19 health concerns, Perth struggled during the early stages of NBL21 as the league fought through a number of Covid obstacles. After losing Terrico White and Nick Kay to overseas offers, they chose to sign John Mooney to fill the enormous gap left in the team’s frontcourt. However, when the NBL chose to reduce the number of import roster spots from three to two, Perth was also unable to re-sign import Miles Plumlee. After multiple delays to the start of the season, the competition began but without a permanent schedule, resulting in team’s finding out each week who and where they would play depending on Covid travel limitations.

Perth struggled to find wins during this time, and after five rounds, they sat in seventh place, which is when the league made the decision to move all teams to Melbourne, where it would play eight games as part of the NBL Cup, a attempt to continue the season while escaping Covid related travel restrictions.

It was there Bryce Cotton (23.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.5 steals) would boost his production, a move which in turn, allowed new signing Todd Blanchfield (via Illawarra) to benefit from the space provided from Cotton’s brilliance and deliver a career-best season. Blanchfield (15.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists) would set a Wildcat record for most three-pointers made in a season and paired nicely with Mooney (16.9 points, 11.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.3 steals) to form a powerful trio that soon led Perth back to the top of the ladder.

As the season entered its final round it seemed the Wildcats would be hoisting a third straight championship trophy. Fate would intervene, however, with Cotton suffering a season-ending injury during a loss to Melbourne (64–78) in their last game of the season. Cotton would go on to be selected as the league’s Most Valuable Player but was unable to suit up during in Perth’s playoff run.

After Melbourne knocked Perth out of the top spot on the ladder in round 13, a strong finish to the season saw United finish in first place (28-8), while Perth (25-11) claimed second position. After losing the opening game to Illawarra (72–74), Perth received a boost from Luke Travers (13 points and 10 rebounds), who, alongside John Mooney (18 points and 10 rebounds) led the Wildcats to a game two victory (79-71). In game three, Blanchfield (24 points and 5 rebounds) and Mitchell Norton (15 points and 4 rebounds) would step up in Cotton’s absence in game three and lift the undermanned squad over the Illawarra Hawks (79-71) in what was a wild semi-final series.

The Wildcats would then face off against a red-hot Melbourne United, who finished the regular season in first place and had been equally impressive all year.

Both games, one and two, were forced to be played in Perth due to travel restrictions. Despite a hot game from Blanchfield (27 points and 7 rebounds), United survived game one, winning by three points (70–73). Game two followed a similar story as Chris Goulding (21 points) and Jock Landale (12 points and 17 rebounds) proved too good for the limping Wildcats, falling short in game two also (74-83).

With Norton (8.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists) battling through injury to end the season, the team’s backcourt became even weaker. Despite Kevin White’s best efforts, stepping up to deliver the best three-game performance of his career (10 points in game one, 12 points in game two and 14 points in game three), Perth were never in the series.. With restrictions lifted, game three was held on Melbourne’s home court and in front of a sold-out 5,000-strong crowd at John Cain Arena (the maximum allowed within Covid restrictions). United defeated Perth 81-76 in game three behind a truly dominant performance from Jock Landale (15 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists and 2 blocks). Landale would be named Finals MVP award as Melbourne collected their sixth NBL championship, their second under the United branding.

2021/22
This season, Perth would see Trevor Gleeson, who coached the team to five championships in seven seasons, leave to coach in the NBA with the Toronto Raptors. The Wildcats would then suffer another blow, losing mid-season signing Will Magnay and half of Perth’s bench rotation (Clint Steindl, Jarrad Weeks, and Jarred Bairstow), all signing multi-year deals to play for Tasmania under former Wildcats assistant Scott Roth.

Perth then looked to rebuild its squad, bringing in US coach Scott Morrison to replace Gleeson, adding imports Vic Law (via Brisbane) Michael Frazier III and signing Matthew Hodgson (via Brisbane) with their last free roster spot.

Blanchfield would injure his knee and require surgery in the early stage of the season. Blanchfield would then return, but re-injure the same knee in just his second game back and he struggled to put up the same numbers as last season as he worked through getting back onto the court.

Perth played its first five games at home before playing 14 games away due to the border closures resulting from COVID-19. Despite the obstacle of being away from family and friends, the Wildcats spent the majority of the year in the top four and were a consensus favourite to make the Grand Final.

The dynamic duo of Cotton (22.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.4 steals) and Law (20.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks) was nearly unstoppable in the early stages of the season, with both players among the top three scorers in the league and Perth leading the league in total points scored (89.1 points per game).

Perth, who were second on the ladder (13-6), returned to Western Australia to play their last nine games, all at home. During that time, the team decided to replace Frazier with big man John Brown III, who flew into the country and began training only to receive the news that his former team would not provide a clearance in time for him to make the playoffs. Perth was then faced with the uncomfortable situation of asking Frazier, who had been training alongside Brown, to return to the lineup while Brown III headed back to the USA.

Earlier today, @PerthWildcats head coach Scott Morrison addressed the awkward nature of how things have played out with Michael Frazier II and John Brown III.#NBL22 pic.twitter.com/scxWbnKfDQ

— NBL (@NBL) April 6, 2022

A season ending knee injury saw Law shut down with only a few games to go, while Cotton also missing several games during the run home. This resulted in Perth winning only three of their nine home games and heading into their last game needing to defeat South East Melbourne to reach the playoffs. Perth entered the game sitting in fourth place, with their playoff chances on the line, but when the team built a eight-point lead in the second half, it seemed a lock that the Wildcats would return to the playoffs for the 37th season in a row. The Phoenix, however, fought back and ended the Wildcats’ extraordinary run of finals campaigns with a thrilling two-point overtime win, ending the team’s run of consecutive playoff appearances, a streak which had begun in 1986.

Both Cotton and Law were selected in the All-NBL First Team at season’s end.

2022/23
After missing the playoffs for the first time in 35 years under Canadian coach, Scott Morrison announced he was leaving after just one season so he could return home for family reasons. In his place, the Wildcat’s appointed former Townsville Crocodiles star John Rillie as the club’s new head coach on a three-year deal.

Perth retained the majority of its roster, with only Kevin White (to Illawarra) and Matt Hodgson (to Taiwan) not returning.

A 30 years of age, Perth signed Blanchfield to a three-year deal that would have kept him in Wildcats’colors until 2025.

“I really enjoyed my last two years in Perth; everything from the community to the club. I’m excited to be back for three years and to look to build something with this group,” he said. “My main goal is to win a championship. I’d love to be able to get one under the belt before I retire, and Perth’s proven over the years that it’s the kind of environment we’re you’re able to do that.” said Blanchfield on after re-signing.

Perth also re-signed Bryce Cotton (3 Year Deal), Jesse Wagstaff (1 Year Deal) and elevated backup guard Kyle Zunic from development player to the full roster. Corey Webster, who the Wildcats had signed to a deal in 2017 only to see him leave before the season started, signed as a free agent. To round out the roster, imports TaShawn Thomas (France) and Brady Manek (North Carolina) were added for some additional scoring punch.

Rillie’s squad began the season nicely, notching up three wins in a row and looking like the Wildcats of old as they sat on top of the NBL ladder. This was then met with a five game losing streak and drop to seventh place, where they hung around until the final month of the season.

Blanchfield was also a part of a epic win over Melbourne, coming back from a 89-84 deficit with 9 seconds remaining. That was before Blanchfield hit a three-pointer while getting fouled and then after missing the bonus free throw, somehow grabbed his own offensive rebound. A quick pass the ball to Corey Webster, who nailed the game winning three-pointer that sent the RAC Arena crowd into pandemonium. The 90-89 victory was Perth’s third in a row as well as the 250th career game for Webster. Blanchfield finished with 8 points and 2 rebounds, Webster added 20 points and 3 assists and Bryce Cotton was the game high scorer with 29 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

With six games remaining in the regular season, Perth added Tai Webster to their roster after he was released from his team in Turkey, reuniting him with his brother Corey. Following the signing of Webster, Corey Shervill was released from the Wildcat’s 11-man roster.

The team’s final three games saw them lose to Tasmania (102–94) after allowing the JackJumpers to outscore them 27-15 across the final 10 minutes. A crucial loss to Cairns Taipans (84-71) set up a nail-biting last round where another Perth loss would see United finish sixth and the Wildcat’s eliminated from Finals or a Perth win allowing them to advance to the postseason.

While the Kings were able to lock down Cotton (7 points), Perth got big games out of Corey Webster (26 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists), Luke Travers (22 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists) and Brady Manek (21 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals) to deliver a upset victory (96-84) against the league leading Kings.

The win saw Perth (15-13) claim sixth place on the ladder and advance into the league’s inaugural play-in tournament. There, they would face South East Melbourne in a game where they trailed the entire game until the fourth quarter. During the final term, the Wildcat’s outscored the Phoenix (41-23) and moved on the second round of the play-in tournament, on the back of a seven-point win (106-99). Perth then met Cairns in a game where the winner would advance to the semi finals as the fourth seed.

Although Cairns entered the game without their leading scorer and rebounder Keanu Pinder, a history making effort from DJ Hogg (32 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists) delivered the end to the Wildcats’ season. Hogg would record the most points ever by a Taipan in the playoffs, defeating the Wildcats (78-91) in the process.

Blanchfield played in 26 games for the Wildcats but struggled to find minutes under new coach Rillie. He averaged 4.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.9 assists for the season and at the end of the season both Blanchfield and Perth mutually agreed to part ways despite his contracted being for another two years.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS
2023/24
After a glut of player injuries, Illawarra compiled their worst record in NBL history (3-25), the Hawks were looking for a fresh start in Jacob Jackomas‘ second year as head coach.

Thanks to Perth wanting to move on from Blanchfield, and being happy to cover part of his remaining contract, the Hawks were able to acquire him in a buy-out. With an eye towards the future, young talent Mason Peatling (via Melbourne), Biwali Bayles (via Sydney) and former Adelaide 36ers development player, Lachlan Olbrich (via NCAA) were signed. At the same time, Korean shooter Hyunjung Lee was signed using the NBL’s ‘Asian player’ rule and NBA prospect AJ Johnson was brought in under the NBL’s Next Stars Program. Import Justin Robinson, who managed just one game before suffering a season-ending injury in 2022, returned to full health, and NBA veteran Gary Clark signed as the team’s third import. Long-serving import Tyler Harvey, captain Sam Froling and guards Wani Swaka Lo Buluk, William “Davo” Hickey and Daniel Grida returned as the Hawk’s core group.

Illawarra showed promising signs during the pre-season, but once the regular season got underway, Illawarra seemed to revert to its old ways, continuing to produce disappointing losses.

Despite solid performances on the court from the likes of Clark (17 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists), Froling (15.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists) and Harvey (15.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.0 steals), Illawarra struggled to find its foot early in the season. Hyun-Jung and Peatling began the year under an injury cloud.

By October, the Hawks were sitting at 2-4 with wins against South East Melbourne and Cairns. Illawarra suffered two more brutal defeats in the next month against Sydney and Cairns, which resulted in the team and Jackomas parting ways. Whilst the Hawks looked for a replacement, assistant Justin Tatum stepped up as interim coach.

Once Tatum arrived, they were able to turn things around and won four of their next six games. A knee sidelined Grida (5.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 0.4 assists) after ten games, but thanks to the emergence of Will Hickey (5.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and the signing of former South East Melbourne guard Kyle Adnam as an injury replacement, the Hawks continued to their winning form without missing a beat.

Despite the challenges, the Hawks continued to deliver wins under Tatum, and a late-season charge saw Illawarra finish the regular season in fourth place (14-14).

Illawarra saw a massive improvement in scoring. In the 2022/23 season, the Hawks ranked last for average points with 80.8 points per game. However, this season, they increased their offensive output to 91.6 points per game, enough to finish fourth in the league.

After making the play-in tournament, Illawarra would lose to Tasmania (92-76) in the opening game but turned things around to defeat New Zealand in a nailbiter (88-85), which earned them a spot in the semi-finals against Melbourne.

In game one, despite a solid first half by the Hawks, United would make a dramatic comeback, forcing the game into overtime and won the opening game 115-106.

Illawarra levelled the series, pushing it to a decider after defeating United in a thriller by five points. However, the Hawk’s dream run came up short, missing a Grand Final berth by six points.

Clark would deliver several big-time offensive performances, including his season-high 38 points against Cairns, which saw him voted as the Hawk’s Club MVP and be selected to the All-NBL First Team.

Blanchfield would appear in 30 games and average 4.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 0.7 assists.

Todd Blanchfield currently plays for the Illawarra Hawks and has played 408 games in his NBL career. He has averaged 9.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1 assists since entering the league in 2009.

CURRENT CONTRACT:

Illawarra Hawks – 2 Year Deal (2023-25)

CAREER RANKINGS:
– 48th in total games played.

Dan Boyce (811 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.