Maitland Pickers five-eighth Chad O'Donnell will be given until grand final eve to recover from a knee injury as coach Matt Lantry praised his side's "desire" in gaining a historic President's Cup title shot.
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The playmaker will undergo scans this week and sit out training until Saturday's captain's run in a bid to prove his fitness for Sunday's state decider against the Glebe Burwood Wolves at Bankwest Stadium.
O'Donnell, one of the Pickers best performers in 2020, was helped from the field late in Saturday's 16-14 elimination semi win over Hills Bulls at Maitland Sportsground.
Lantry said he was "hopeful" of having O'Donnell available after he fell awkwardly from a high tackle that saw Hills second-rower Dean Matterson sent to the sin bin and put on report.
Early medical assessments indicate O'Donnell escaped an ACL tear but the full extent of the damage has yet to be revealed.
"We're not quite sure about Chad yet, but we'll rest him at training this week and give him right up until Saturday to show he's right in the captain's run," Lantry said.
"He'll likely go for scans on Tuesday but we don't believe it's an ACL. So hopefully it's a more minor MCL which means we'd be confident of taping it up and getting through 80 minutes."
Lantry said Pickers winger James Bradley and fullback Daniel Langbridge shape as likely replacements if the No.6 was ruled out.
"I think James would be our prefered option at this stage. He's played there before with Singleton and his confidence is sky high at the moment," the Maitland mentor said.
"Daniel could play there as well but I'm reluctant to move him from fullback because he's been doing such a good job for us. We'll give them both a run there this week and weigh up our options in case we need them."
Lantry said it was more "desire" than "finesse" that saw the minor premiers hold off a fast-finishing Bulls side in front of an estimated crowd of 1500.
Brock Lamb and Matt Soper-Lawler scored tries either side of Daniel Harrison for a 10-6 lead at half-time. Bradley crossed shortly after the break before Taniela Lasalo and Leva Li put the visitors within reach.
In the other NSW Rugby League semi Glebe Burwood, who were second on the ladder and the only team to defeat Maitland during the regular season, kept the North Sydney Bears tryless in a 26-6 victory at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the No.1 ranked Central Coast Roosters, which features up to 10 Newcastle and Hunter players, will face the Bears in the NSW Women's Premiership decider at the same Parramatta venue on Sunday after North Sydney accounted for Cronulla 16-10 in the preliminary final.
PICKERS 16 (Brock Lamb, Matt Soper-Lawler, James Bradley tries; Lamb 2 goals) def HILLS 14 (Daniel Harrison, Taniela Lasalo, Leva Li tries; Josh Lewis goal).
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IN THE NEWS:
Josh Callinan
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
