The Maitland Blacks Juniors programs are reaping rewards with 27 young Blacks named in Wildfires representative teams.
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Maitland Junior Rugby Union president Dan Leadley said the team had multiple players selected in each age group of the Hunter Junior Rugby Union representative program.
“As a club, we are obviously incredibly proud of all the boys,” he said.
“It’s a great achievement for the boys and also for the club and the support we provide to all players in our junior program.”
Maitland boys will almost make up the majority of the Wildfires teams in the under-14 and under 12s, with eight and seven representatives respectively.
The under 12 boys all come from the one team and have played rugby together since under 8s.
Selections in the teams were made after a series of trials late last year and early this year.
Junior rugby kicks off after the April school holidays with the opening round on April 29.
The Maitland Blacks juniors are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year and will be fielding more than 400 players in under-7 through to under-16s.
Training began on Tuesday for the club’s highly successful Little Blacks Army under-7 competition, which is expected to expand to 10 teams from a record eight last year.
Maitland Wildfires
Under-16: Lewis Heazlewood, Sam Parkinson and Angus Watt.
Under-15: Hunta Saunders, Tim Ryan, Blake Cork and Josh Cox.
Under-14: Coby Wetini, Jack Ryan, Connor Fortune, Ethan McLoghlin, Rory Flanagan, Jarrod Homan, Joshua and Aiden Procopis.
Under-13: Harry Hodgson, Liam Mainey, Cameron Cox, Jack Cliff and Darcy Blackmore.
Under-12: Felix Mole, Hamish Munro, Angus Cheetham, Connor Martel, Aiden Eather, Jack Ryan, Jobe Hirschausen.
Senior rep teams
The Maitland Blacks senior teams also have several players in representative squads this year.
The Newcastle and Hunter Rugby Unions senior team includes Maitland’s captain and Country NSW representative Michael Howell, Jono O’Toole and Sapati Peniata
The NHRU’s Colts squad includes Maitland’s Jack Lawrence, Max Stafford and Tom Underwood.
Senior coach Stu Pinkerton said he was looking forward to the opportunity to try and win back the title at the upcoming 2017 Country Championships.
Pinkerton said he was excited about the talent and depth of the squad and pleased pleased that eight NHRU clubs are represented across the selected squad.
