Matt Jarrett proves pivotal in reigniting Blacks

MAITLAND fly-half Matt Jarrett marked his first full game back in black by picking up three points in the Anderson Medal.But it is the impact Jarrett had on his teammates that most impressed coach Geoff Golledge in the 55-7 win over arch enemies Singleton at Rugby Park on Saturday."He has a knack of making blokes around him better players," Golledge said. "We had James Bonomini playing at outside-centre and he looked like an absolute superstar."Same with Pinky [inside-centre Shane Edmonds]. He started playing with a bit more confidence. Jono O'Toole played really well at fullback. Our two wingers got plenty of ball and most of our tries were scored out wide. "That is the difference."Jarrett has spent the past two years based in London where he was captain at Haywards Heath, who play in the fourth tier of English rugby.He returned home for two months last season and kick-started the Blacks' drive towards the semi-finals only to depart on the eve of the play-offs. The Blacks were subsequently bundled out in the elimination semi-final 24-10 by University.Maitland are in fifth position, but unlike last year Jarrett intends to play out the season."I have pretty much had enough of England," Jarrett said. "I have been there and done that and my visa has run out. I'm looking forward to spending some time back here."I have applied back at university and have 18 months to go in a business accounting degree."The 23-year-old played down his role in last year's resurgence, which included an eight-game winning streak, but Golledge admitted to a "sigh of relief" when Jarrett turned up at training a fortnight ago."As a coaching staff we were saying, 'Look, he may not want to even play, so let's get on with it.'"We have been trying to get guys accustomed to playing that five-eighth position and they will still be good to us down the track."But maybe deep down there was a sigh of relief [when he returned]. He has obviously gained from the experiences he had at the Brumbies [Academy] and overseas. "He has a solid kicking game and knows how to guide a team around the park."While in England, Jarrett played four World Cup qualifiers for Malta."It was an awesome experience," he said."We beat Latvia in Latvia, but went down to The Netherlands which ended our hopes of making the 2011 World Cup."He hopes to continue representing Malta, but his focus now is on helping take the Blacks to a first title in a decade."It is starting to come together albeit a bit later than I was hoping," Golledge said. "As long as we can get the consistency then we can challenge most teams in this competition."