Anderson upbeat in battle for No. 1 spot

TOWNSVILLE Bl a c khawks winger Carlin Anderson still has ambitions to reclaim the No. 1 jersey this season after making a quicker than expected return from a hand injury.

Anderson needed surgery after tearing tendons in his hand while making a tackle against Tweed Heads back in April and looked set to be sidelined for at least four months.

But the 22- year- old made an impressive return to action last month and he has scored three tries in four games as the Blackhawks have surged into top spot on the Queensland Cup ladder.

Anderson has had a tough run with injuries, including a horrific broken jaw while in the Broncos system in 2016, but the Ipswich product said he was always confident he could get back ahead of schedule after his latest setback.

“I never planned to miss the whole season. I was rehabbing really well and training really well over at the Cowboys and doing all the little things properly,” Anderson said.

“It’s really good to be back playing, even though I’m on the wing. We’re on top of the ladder at the moment and we’re really confident with the team we’ve got to take it out this year.”

Anderson has spent most of his time on the wing since his injury comeback, with midseason recruit Zac Santo taking over the fullback role, but Blackhawks coach Kristian Woolf has yet to settle on his back three as they prepare for the finals.

Anderson, who is contracted to the Cowboys for another season, said his preferred position was still fullback, but he was happy to play anywhere with so much depth at the club in every position.

“Coming back from injury, my priority was to be playing fullback, but now we’ve got Santo there, so we’re swapping in and out and having to rotate people,” Anderson said.

“It’s not ideal for any of the boys, but I guess that’s just what happens when you have so many good outside backs in the team and forwards as well.

“Boys that were doing a great job during the middle of the season have had to miss out because we’ve had other people come back from injury. It’s really good signs for the club.”

The Blackhawks take on the Norths Devils in Brisbane this afternoon and Anderson expected another strong challenge as every team tries to knock them off the top of the ladder.

“We’ve just got to make sure that we play our game and don’t shoot ourselves in the foot,” he said.

“We’re going through our game plan week to week to make sure we’re not just going through the motions and focusing on everything that we need come September footy.”