THERE was a moment late in the President's Cup final, result virtually sealed, when a seemingly endless stream of black-and-white jerseys ran across the field at pace.
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Maitland hadn't scored a try, but rather saved one with a tackle over the sideline, once again denying St Mary's with desperate defence and rushing together to offer congratulations.
That intensity highlighted drive and determination on the Pickers' mission, eventually completed with Sunday's 32-10 victory at CommBank Stadium and marking a title clean sweep for the Newcastle Rugby League premiers across 2022 and 2023.
"We're pretty big on celebrating the small moments, especially in big games," President's Cup best on ground Daniel Langbridge told the Newcastle Herald after full-time.
Langbridge was a strong performer in the decider, crucially securing a loose ball on the ground early in the second half after a kick ricocheted off the goalpost and sat precariously near the tryline.
"That's what Matt [coach Matt Lantry] instils in us - never give up, keep pushing and next man in. Everybody got on board and it showed on the scoreboard," the Maitland fullback said.
Langbridge was "thrilled" with the individual prize but said Pickers halfback Brock Lamb played a "really big game".
Lamb had a direct hand in most of Maitland's five tries, including back-to-back pinpoint grubbers for Gary Anderson and Lincoln Smith midway through the first half. He was also perfect with the boot, kicking all six shots at goal.
The Pickers opened in ideal fashion with barely 60 seconds elapsed, scoring at the end of the first set after Chad O'Donnell's bomb was left to bounce and Matt Soper-Lawler was poised to pounce.
It was 20-0 at half-time and James Bradley later nabbed a double in between two consolation tries from St Mary's.
"I think we were 19 from 20 [completed sets] in the first half. We spoke about suffocating St Mary's with our game cycle and being pretty relentless," Lantry said.
Maitland recently clinched back-to-back Newcastle RL minor-major premierships. The Pickers also beat Hills in the President's Cup decider last year.
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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.
