New Cup coaches of 2024: Campese at Blackhawks
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Season 2024 of the Hostplus Cup is upon us and there are some talented faces among the coaching ranks.
Three clubs have appointed new head coaches, with Paul Aiton, Terry Campese and a returning Eric Smith starting at the PNG Hunters, Townsville Blackhawks and Northern Pride respectively.
In this edition we talk to Blackhawks head coach Campese about his first time coaching at this level, his new-look squad and the exciting debutant he has coming in Round 1.
Coaching history
Campese finished his professional playing career in 2016, hanging up the boots with Hull Kingston Rovers in the UK.
From here he returned to Australia and started captain-coaching with the Queanbeyan Blues, winning grand finals in 2017 and 2019.
He finished up with the Blues at the end of the 2022 season and helped Adrian Purtell out with the Eden Tigers in 2023, where they were crowned minor premiers.
Throughout this time Campese also coached the Monaro Colts representative team in Canberra in 2021 and 2022.
In 2021, he was also the assistant coach for NSW Country before being promoted to head coach in 2022.
Campese was also assistant coach for Italy in the 2022 World Cup.
Q&A with Terry Campese
How does it feel to be named to head coach of the Townsville Blackhawks?
I always wanted to make the next level. Coaching is my passion and the career path I wanted to take. I’ve always enjoyed the competitive side of coaching and football and the challenge of each and every week, coming up with different game plans and structures. When I saw the job advertised with the Blackhawks, I applied for it and went through the process and it turned around pretty quickly. It was like a two week turnaround. I was pumped but it was a tough ask to come in with no players signed. I got the call and then three days later I was here. It was a privilege to get the phone call. I was a little bit nervous because I know it was competitive. There were quite a few applications so I was pumped to get it. It’s a massive challenge and I know that semi-professional can be difficult at times due to a number of factors… but I absolutely love it. You wake up each and everyday wanting to come to work, which is awesome in life. You have to make an impact while you’re here.
What is your coaching philosophy?
I think over my time I’ve just taken little traits from all the coaches and senior leaders I’ve been involved with. From club footy at Raiders to all the different people I’ve worked with in the NRL, I’ve just blended them all together to what I believe worked for myself and what I think can work with others. There’s no perfect style and it’s a mixture of all of them. I try to adopt what I think works and we’ll see in 2024 how that goes.
Who would you say is your mentor or strongest influence in coaching?
It’s a mixture of all the coaches that I've been involved with. I've taken parts from Cameron Ciraldo at the 2017 World Cup to Ricky Stuart, Dave Furner and Neil Henry at the Raiders. They’ve all played their role in my career choice. I look up to them all for making me want to do this job.
What are your first impressions of your squad?
Very happy. We have a really good senior leadership group. Our first signing was James Tamou. You couldn't start with a better person, better player and someone that drives the club culture. We have great senior leaders leading the way for our young kids. We’re coming together well considering it’s a very new squad. We’ve got players like Will Wardle who's come from Parkes and packed up everything to see what he can do here. We’ve played two trials and there were some really good glimpses. It’s great to see it go onto the footy field. We’ll definitely be competitive and that’s what we ask for. We ask for them to go out with the right attitude and leave it all on the field. That’s all we can ask as coaches and fans.
What are your goals for season 2024?
Definitely finals. That’s everyone’s goal at the start of the year. The higher up, the better chance you have to make it to the big dance. Top two would be unbelievable and that’s what we’ve got to strive to. That’s our goal and hopefully we can progress and grow as a squad throughout the season.
Heavy lifter: Dudley Dotoi
Who within your squad will make their mark in 2024?
There’s a couple of 21s who played in the Colts grand final last year and won the trophy. There's definitely a few of those guys to keep an eye but one would be Dudley (Dotoi) the centre. He’s a special talent and some of the things he does at training, it blows your mind. He’s the one everyone has to watch out for and I'm sure NRL clubs will be keeping a close eye on that.
