Todd Blanchfield

Hawks ID: 193

Todd Blanchfield remembers day one of his first NBL preseason like it was yesterday. A veteran told the 17-year-old to make the most of it, because once the season starts, you blink and it's gone. Seventeen years and 450 games later, he's still blinking.

The Long Road

Blanchfield's NBL journey started in Townsville as a teenager out of Mackay, where he was named Most Improved Player in 2015 and made the All-NBL Second Team. From there the road ran through Melbourne United, the Sydney Kings, a first stint at Illawarra in 2018-20, and three seasons at Perth Wildcats, before he returned to the Hawks in 2023. Four grand finals came and went along the way. Three of them ended in losses.

450 Games and Counting

This season Blanchfield became just the 32nd player in NBL history to reach 450 games, a milestone that places him alongside some of the league's longest-serving names. "I'm extremely honoured to be able to do it for this long," he said. It's the kind of number that only comes from staying healthy and staying wanted, season after season, club after club.

The Ring at Last

It took his 16th NBL season and his second stint in Illawarra colours, but in 2024/25 Blanchfield finally won it all. "Obviously the championship last year was the ultimate," he said. "I've been close a few times... so I've been on both sides of the fence." After three grand final losses across four different clubs, the drought ended in the city he'd already decided to call home.

Numbers

154 games for the Hawks across two stints, 15th on the club's all-time games played list as of the end of NBL26. 471 games across his full NBL career as at end of NBL26, 25th all-time in league history.

Home in the Gong

Blanchfield has now settled in Illawarra. A second arrived during NBL26, and he's just completed his second season with the Hawks' NBL1 program as well (winning NBL1 East MVP), having already led his hometown Mackay Meteors to an NBL1 North title. "We love it here. I love Illawarra," he said.  

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