Blackhawks carving out pathway to the top
BLACKHAWKS operations manager Adrian Thomson believes the success of the club’s inaugural under- 20s team this season has paved the way for more local players to forge their rugby league careers in Townsville.
The Blackhawks have been the benchmark since the shift to a state- based under- 20s competition as they made it all the way through to last weekend’s grand final after also winning the minor premiership.
Thomson said that success was already flowing through to the senior level – with Sam Martin- Savage and Michael Carroll both making their Queensland Cup debuts while hooker Brent Woolf was a fixture in the top squad while still being under- 20s eligible.
It is part of an overall focus on improving the junior pathways this season, with the Blackhawks and the Townsville and District Rugby League also forming a joint Development Academy Program to have all teams from under- 12s through to under- 20s playing in the same colours. Thomson said the strong under- 20s program was like having a reserve grade for the Queensland Cup and he expected as many as eight players to make the transition to the senior Blackhawks next season.
“It’s a chance to have these guys underneath you and doing the same training as the Intrust Super Cup and seeing who cuts it and who doesn’t and it gives locals a chance,” he said.
“We’ll hopefully sign eight of the guys that are coming out of 20s and most of them are local guys.
“It’s been a credit to ( coach) Dave Tangata- Toa and his staff that they’ve done a tremendous job.
“They can play footy and they’re a good group of guys, so they need to stay with us.”
Thomson says the club’s goal has always been to provide opportunities for local players, but they have had to look beyond Townsville to bolster the Q- Cup squad at different times.
The Blackhawks recruited several players from NRL systems including Jake Marketo, Kalifa Faifai Loa, and Jaelen Feeney in 2018, but Thomson felt their new junior pathways would allow them to better prioritise homegrown talent in the future.
“It’s really the first time that we’ve had that opportunity and we don’t need to go out elsewhere and sign guys from now on,” he said.
“Unfortunately the first couple of years we’ve had to go outside and sign guys and we’ll still get one or two at different times depending on where we need to strengthen positions.
“But at the end of the day it’s always about keeping local guys in Townsville and this is a great example of it.
“There’s still quite a lot of this side that are eligible for 20s next year.
“We want to see them back bigger and stronger and promote some of the 18s from this year up to 20s. That’s how it should go.”