# 2021 Townsville Blackhawks season

The 2021 Townsville Blackhawks season was the seventh in the club's history. Coached by Aaron Payne and captained by Sam Hoare, they competed in the Intrust Super Cup.
The 2021 season marked the return of the Blackhawks after the 2020 season was cancelled after just one round due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Season summary
### Milestones

* Round 1: Tom Hancock, Patrick Kaufusi, Cameron King and Griffin Neame made their debuts for the club.
* Round 1: Griffin Neame scored his first try for the club.
* Round 3: Esan Marsters and Riley Price made their debuts for the club.
* Round 3: Josh Hoffman and Esan Marsters scored their first tries for the club.
* Round 7: Benn Campagnolo made his debut for the club.
* Round 7: Benn Campagnolo scored his first try for the club.
* Round 9: Luke Geary, Jordan Lipp, Cody Maughan and Aaron Moore made their debuts for the club.
* Round 9: Luke Geary and Moses Meninga scored their first tries for the club.
* Round 10: Patrick Kaufusi scored his first try for the club.
* Round 13: Nick Brown made his debut for the club.
* Round 13: Sam Murphy scored his first try for the club.

## Squad movement
### Gains

| Player | Signed From | Until End of |
| Michael Bell | North Queensland Cowboys (mid-season) | 2022 |
| Nick Brown | Redcliffe Dolphins | 2021 |
| Luke Geary | St Marys Saints (mid-season) | 2021 |
| Jordan Kenworthy | Mackay Cutters | 2021 |
| Cameron King | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 2021 |
| Shaun Nona | Limoux Grizzlies | 2021 |

### Losses

| Player | Signed To | Until End of |
| Krys Freeman | Released | – |
| Jake Marketo | Released | – |
| Harry Mulligan | Released | – |
| Temone Power | Year off | – |
| Lachlan Taylor | Released | – |
| Nathan Traill | Released | – |

## Fixtures
### Pre-season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals |
| Saturday, 27 February | Trial 1 | Northern Pride | Jack Manski Oval | 6 – 34 | Quabba | Asi (1) |
| Saturday, 6 March | Trial 2 | Mackay Cutters | BB Print Stadium | 24 – 18 | Hancock, Kenworthy, Laybutt, Murphy, Salam | Asi (2) |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye |||||||

### Regular season

Due COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions in Queensland throughout the season, Round 12 was postponed and played after Rounds 13 and 14. Rounds 15 and 18 were cancelled and Rounds 16 and 17 were postponed and played after Round 19.
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals |
| Saturday, 20 March | Round 1 | Ipswich Jets | North Ipswich Reserve | 46 – 12 | Chudleigh (3), Boyce, Hoare, Laybutt, Neame, Salam | Asi (7) |
| Sunday, 28 March | Round 2 | Brisbane Tigers | Jack Manski Oval | 30 – 0 | Anderson (2), Faifai Loa (2), Boyce | Nona (4), Anderson (1) |
| Saturday, 10 April | Round 3 | Norths Devils | Bishop Park | 22 – 30 | Marsters (2), Anderson, Hoffman | Nona (2), Anderson (1) |
| Saturday, 17 April | Round 4 | Northern Pride | Jack Manski Oval | 26 – 30 | Marsters (2), Chudleigh, Faifai Loa, Nona | Nona (2), Anderson (1) |
| Sunday, 25 April | Round 5 | Sunshine Coast Falcons | Jack Manski Oval | 16 – 24 | Barrett (2), Anderson | Nona (2) |
| Sunday, 9 May | Round 6 | Redcliffe Dolphins | Moreton Daily Stadium | 24 – 26 | Faifai Loa (2), Anderson, Caroll, Neame | Nona (2) |
| Sunday, 16 May | Round 7 | Mackay Cutters | Jack Manski Oval | 24 – 18 | Faifai Loa (2), Barrett, Campagnolo, Laybutt | Anderson (2) |
| Saturday, 29 May | Round 8 | Burleigh Bears | Pizzey Park | 18 – 22 | Barrett (2), Carroll | Nona (3) |
| Saturday, 5 June | Round 9 | PNG Hunters | Bycroft Oval | 38 – 28 | Geary (3), Barrett, Carroll, Feeney, Meninga | Nona (5) |
| Saturday, 12 June | Round 10 | CQ Capras | Jack Manski Oval | 48 – 16 | Kaufusi (3), Carroll (2), Jensen (2), Faifai Loa, Martin-Savage | Nona (6) |
| Saturday, 19 June | Round 11 | Sunshine Coast Falcons | Sunshine Coast Stadium | 18 – 16 | Feeney (2), Carroll, Salam | Nona (1) |
| Saturday, 10 July | Round 13 | Northern Pride | Barlow Park | 30 – 26 | Hoare, Kaufusi, Kenworthy, Murphy, Salam | Nona (5) |
| Saturday, 17 July | Round 14 | Souths Logan Magpies | Charlie Wehlow Oval | 28 – 18 | Anderson, Faifai Loa, Hoffman, Laybutt, Nona, Salam | Nona (2) |
| Sunday, 25 July | Round 12 | Norths Devils | Jack Manski Oval | 22 – 29 | Anderson, Kaufusi, Lousi, Martin-Savage | Faifai-Loa (1), Laybutt (1), Nona (1) |
| Saturday, 31 July | Round 15 | Ipswich Jets | Jack Manski Oval | | Cancelled | |
| Saturday, 21 August | Round 18 | Redcliffe Dolphins | Jack Manski Oval | | Cancelled | |
| Saturday, 28 August | Round 19 | Mackay Cutters | BB Print Stadium | 28 – 10 | Bell, Faifai-Loa, Feeney, Hoffman, Laybutt | Nona (4) |
| Saturday, 4 September | Round 16 | Tweed Heads Seagulls | Piggabeen Sports Complex | 26 – 26 | Feeney, Hoffman, Price, Salam | Nona (5) |
| Saturday, 11 September | Round 17 | Wynnum Manly Seagulls | Jack Manski Oval | 24 – 30 | Carroll, Chudleigh, Faifai-Loa, Price | Anderson (2), Nona (2) |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye |||||||

### Finals

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals |
| Sunday, 19 September | Elimination Final | Souths Logan Magpies | Marsden State High School | 24 – 30 | Chudleigh, Faifai-Loa, Feeney, Laybutt | Nona (4) |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye |||||||

## Statistics

| * | Denotes player contracted to the North Queensland Cowboys for the 2021 season |
| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| Carlin Anderson | 14 | 7 | 7 | - | 28 |
| Daejarn Asi* | 4 | - | 7 | - | 14 |
| Nathan Barrett | 8 | 6 | - | - | 24 |
| Michael Bell | 5 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Joe Boyce | 15 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Nick Brown | 3 | – | - | - | – |
| Benn Campagnolo | 2 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Michael Carroll | 14 | 7 | - | - | 28 |
| Josh Chudleigh | 15 | 6 | - | - | 24 |
| Kalifa Faifai Loa | 16 | 12 | 1 | - | 50 |
| Jaelen Feeney | 13 | 6 | - | - | 24 |
| Luke Geary | 3 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Tom Gilbert* | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Tom Hancock | 9 | - | - | - | - |
| Sam Hoare | 17 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Josh Hoffman | 12 | 4 | - | - | 16 |
| Corey Jensen* | 7 | 7 | - | - | 28 |
| Patrick Kaufusi | 13 | 5 | - | - | 20 |
| Jordan Kenworthy | 14 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Cameron King | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Kyle Laybutt | 14 | 5 | 1 | - | 22 |
| Jordan Lipp* | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Sione Lousi | 17 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Esan Marsters* | 3 | 4 | - | - | 16 |
| Sam Martin-Savage | 5 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Cody Maughan | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Moses Meninga | 2 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Aaron Moore | 6 | - | - | - | - |
| Sam Murphy | 9 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Griffin Neame* | 8 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Shaun Nona | 17 | 2 | 50 | - | 108 |
| Justin O'Neill* | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Riley Price* | 8 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Kieran Quabba | 12 | - | - | - | - |
| Bacho Salam | 9 | 5 | - | - | 20 |
| Totals | | 90 | 66 | 0 | 492 |

## Honours
### Club

* Player of the Year: Josh Chudleigh
* Players' Player: Josh Chudleigh
* Back of the Year: Jaelen Feeney
* Forward of the Year: Josh Chudleigh
* Under 20 Player of the Year: Jake Bourke
* Under 19 Player of the Year: Jordii-Rae Mahendrarajah
* Under 18 Player of the Year: Will Latu
* Under 16 Player of the Year: Jamal Shibasaki