STAGE IS SET FOR A YOUNG BLACKHAWK TO DOMINATE
UNIQUE, willing and packed with a “tremendous amount of toughness”.
These are the characteristics that could enable Blackhawks under-21s ace Tom Chester to join an elite calibre of NRL stars in the future.
Since returning from injury earlier in the year, the halfback was shifted to lock with the pairing of Jake Bourke and Aaron Moore retained.
But coach Dave Elliott has identified a new string to their attack ever since Chester made the number 13 jumper his own.
Think Cameron Murray, Victor Radley and Isaah Yeo. These star middle men of the NRL have revolutionised the game. Equipped with a natural ball-playing ability, Chester could well do the same.
However, Elliott said it was more what he offered with the ball that had him poised to be a major threat in Sunday’s Hastings Deering Colts grand final against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls. While the halves is likely where the young gun’s future lies, the coach declared he could end up wherever he wanted, and challenged him not to pigeonhole himself.
“Tom’s is a unique player. He’s really skilful and he’s got great footwork and speed, but he’s also got a tremendous amount of toughness about the way he plays,” Elliott said.
“Because he’s so willing and tough he gets his body right in front (in defence) and that’s half the battle.
“Tommy could be anything to be honest, I said that to him: ‘Don’t think you’re going to be somewhere because you’re that versatile you could end up anywhere from 1 to 13’.
“That’s what we hoped for when we did move him there, we do like to move the footy as a team. I sold it to him in that manner that the Cameron Murrays and Victor Radleys of the NRL are all really good ball players.
“Not overly big, but they bring that dynamic and Tommy has certainly helped our attack.”
Sunday’s decider will be Elliott’s final time at the Blackhawks’ helm, before he takes up the top job with the Mackay Cutters. Elliott expects it to be a battle of two very different teams.
On his side, a unit that has made up for its lack of size with attacking flair. For the Seagulls, a giant forward pack marshalled by talented hooker Harrison Graham.
While Wynnum have lost just once in 2021, Elliott believes his outfit has peaked at the right time, having bounced back from a defeat in week one of the finals. They rallied resoundingly, surprising even themselves with a 54-12 triumph over the Sunshine Coast in the preliminaries.
It is why Elliott is undaunted by the giant task in front of them.
“There’s certainly an air of excitement within the group, it has been a long year,” Elliott said. “We said our best footy has always been in front of us if we continue to build as a group and those combinations together certainly through the finals series we’ve continued to do that.”