Skipper’s second wind

HAD it not been for an overhaul of the Hasting Deering Colts competition, Curtis Dempsey would have been unable to lead his Blackhawks into Sunday’s decider.

Stripped of what he thought was his final chance to impress before his days in senior rugby league began as the pandemic ended last season, the hooker says his motivation to train was drained away. But with the then under-20s concept now an under-21s outlet, Dempsey got his second wind.

And he had the captaincy tag next to his name for good measure, which has him one game away from being Townsville’s first premiership-winning leader in the senior ranks.

“I was pretty down in the dumps actually. I thought it was my last opportunity to play quality footy and I thought I had lost that chance,” Dempsey said.

“Getting cancelled took a bit out of me. I lost my motivation for footy for a while. It took me until I heard the comp was coming back in for under 21s that I got the motivation to start training again.”

Dempsey has watched on this year as teammates Aaron Moore, Benn Campagnolo and Jordan Lipp all made statements in the Blackhawks’ Queensland Cup side., And the skipper said a title is the only thing left on his radar before making the same jump.

But adjusting to the rigours of senior football has not been the biggest challenge for the 21-year-old. It has been in establishing himself as a leader.

Never one to be too vocal on the field, Dempsey said it took plenty of discussions with coach Dave Elliott before he truly felt comfortable in the role. Now on the brink of history, he knows how important a triumph on Sunday would mean to the club.

Injuries to both the under-21s and Queensland Cup teams ensured the green outfit rarely fielded the same 17 each week. A loss to Redcliffe in the opening week of finals was another obstacle which forced them back.

But Dempsey said he and his Blackhawks teammates had become used to playing through adversity, and this weekend would serve as his biggest litmus test yet of his captaincy credentials.

“It was actually really difficult (being captain). On the field I don’t really talk too much, I’m a lead by example player, so having to be the one that talks a lot on the field was hard to get used to,” Dempsey said. “I’m trying to lead from the front, and it took me a while to get used to that, but hopefully I’m doing the right thing for the boys.

“I think it was almost like an omen we lost (to Redcliffe), we needed to be put back in our place a bit. But we’ve had to do that all year, with injuries and boys playing (Queensland) Cup, we’ve had to do it hard, so having to do it in the finals is no big difference.”