RUGBY LEAGUE
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The Maitland Pickers were left bitterly disappointed after bowing out of the Newcastle Rugby League finals race and giving up fifth spot on the competition ladder with a 36-4 loss to the Kurri Kurri Bulldogs on Saturday but captain-coach PJ Ellis couldn’t have been happier with the overall season.
After starting the year with an entirely new backline and only a sprinkling of premiership winners from 2010 and 2011 the rookie coach was left with a few new recruits from Group 21, untried junior talent and a lot of doubters.
But the experienced campaigner and former NRL player bound his playing group together and after losing their first three games of the season went within two converted tries of making the play-offs.
The fact Maitland was even in that situation and had given themselves a shot at qualifying for the semi-finals probably exceeded initial expectations for 2013.
“For the roster we had I think we did pretty well this year,” Ellis said.
“A lot of young guys have come into first grade and now they know what is required, which is good for the future.
“It was obviously disappointing today but losing guys like George [Josh Desmond] and Chad [Solman] didn’t help in a big game like this.”
Maitland’s under-18 team will now fly the flag for the Pickers in the semi-finals after wrapping up the minor premiership with a 34-0 win against Kurri Kurri on Saturday.