Todd Blanchfield was content as that grizzled veteran deep on the Illawarra Hawks bench most of NBL25, then all of a sudden Darius Days got hurt and now he's become as crucial as anyone to their NBL championship tilt.

For two and-a-half seasons Blanchfield had seen his court time diminish firstly down to 16.3 minutes with the Perth Wildcats in NBL23 before 13.2 minutes at the Hawks in NBL24, and then only 8.5 minutes in the opening 20 games of NBL25.

Then all of a sudden he is every bit as important as anyone for an Illawarra team that is now one win away from a first Championship Series appearance since 2017 after Friday night's 101-94 Game 1 Playoff victory against the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

There's never been a question over Blanchfield still being able to contribute. He has continued to be a dominant force in NBL1 North including in the championship team of 2024 with the Mackay Meteors, and even hit seven threes for 31 points with the Boomers almost two years to the day.

So when Darius Days went down injured back on January 20, the chance presented for Blanchfield to show there's plenty left in his 33-year-old legs. He's more than surpassed any expectations coach Justin Tatum might have had.

Blanchfield has now been playing 18.2 minutes over the past nine matches for 9.4 points which has gone up to 14 in the past five while he has knocked down 18/46 from downtown over the last six games.

That included the 434-game veteran putting up 16 points with four three-pointers along with six rebounds in the Game 1 win over the Phoenix where his coach praised much more than his ability to score.

"It's not the offensive side of it, it's the experience and the communication that Todd gives us," Tatum said.

"He's a vocal leader and he understands his role, and then when teams feel that they can help off of him or guys find him, we know he can shoot the ball well.

"But it's the vocalness that I love about him and the physicality, and he lets guys know what's going on out there ahead of time so they can adjust to it. Then the plus is him making shots."

There's precious little Blanchfield hasn’t achieved over his career that started with the Townsville Crocodiles before time with Melbourne United, the Sydney Kings and then at the Hawks for the first time before moving west with the Perth Wildcats.

He is now in his second season back in the 'Gong but what he hasn’t been part of is a championship in the NBL. That is why he's so excited to now be one win from a Championship Series and four victories from that elusive title.

While that is always the goal, what is making this run with the Hawks of NBL25 for Blanchfield is just how close the entire group is and how nobody is worried about individual glory and is just doing what they can to help the team thrive.

"Obviously everyone's goal at the start of every season is to win a championship and there's obviously a lot of different goals along the way to get to that ultimate goal," Blanchfield said.

"But it would mean everything and it's why you work your butt off all pre-season and season to get to this situation.

"Honestly, though, being part of the group that we have this year it's the camaraderie that we have off the floor that shows on the floor. It's so fun to be a part of and to be able to win a championship with this group would be so special."

Blanchfield is making sure to smell the roses along the way at this point of his career too. While he has been a renowned three-point shooter over his career, getting out to finish a dunk in transition on Friday night is not something he takes for granted.

"That's all the salt and pepper there is, but I feel like honestly those moments when you get dunks like that in an environment like tonight, it's what you dream of as a young kid," Blanchfield said.

"It's a special moment and it's something you always will remember but I was just happy to be in that situation to find myself open on the break."

Chris Pike

Blanchfield thriving on bigger Hawks role