The Maitland Blacks are hopeful that internationals Luke Burgess and Nic White will be back for the club's 140th anniversary dinner.
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Burgess and White played their junior rugby with the club before graduating to Super Rugby and the Wallabies.
Dinner organiser Patrick Howard said tickets were selling fast to the event which will be held at the Maitland Showground function centre on May 13.
“We are hopeful that Nic and Luke will be able to get back but we will have at least one Wallaby on hand with Stephen Hoiles the guest speaker,” he said.
“Both Nic and Luke are very proud of the fact they came through the junior ranks at Maitland.”
Both Nic (White) and Luke (Burgess) are very proud of the fact they came through the junior ranks at Maitland.
- Patrick Howard
Staging the celebrations at the Maitland Showground is a salute to the club’s long history. They played at the Showground before moving to Lorn Park in 1948 and Marcellin Park in 1997.
Howard said the club was expecting former players to travel from all over Australia to take part.
He said the club hoped that fans and players would help with celebrations by unearthing any old memorabilia or photos to put on display at the dinner and during the year.
The evening also celebrates the Maitland Blacks Junior Rugby Club’s 50th anniversary. The juniors were established by the Maitland Marist Brothers in 1967 and were originally known as the Marcellin Juniors with teams in the under-16 and under-18 Newcastle competition.
The junior club has provided the core of Maitland’s nine first grade premierships – 1969, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1983, 1991, 1994, 1998 and 1999 – since it’s inception.
The Blacks have won 12 first grade titles overall since entering the Newcastle competition in 1911
Their first title came in 1916 during the early years of World War. The competition was suspended from 1917-1919 as a result of the war.
Post war they defeated East Newcastle 11-5 to win the 1927 premiership and were premiers again in 1937 defeating Merewether Carlton 6-3.
Between 1929 and 1937 appeared in seven grand finals for the two victories.
The Newcastle competition was suspended after the 1939 season due to World War II and did not resume until 1948.
The Blacks have had numerous players represent at state and NSW Country level. Their first NSW player was Richard Blaxland in 1886.
Former player Charles White played for Australia in the inaugural international against England in 1899 and in 1903 played in the first Trans-Tasman Test against New Zealand.
Tickets are $100, details are on the Blacks’ Facebook page.
