A Luke Dorn and Dane Tilse inspired Maitland Pickers ran over the top of reigning premiers South Newcsatle to open their season with a 36-16 win at Townson Oval on Saturday.
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Dorn had three try assists and was denied a try of his own when the referee ruled he had been held up by Souths defenders under the cross bar.
Tilse had crossed near the same spot earlier as the Pickers turned an error-riddled 8-12 half-time deficit into a 20-point win.
The Pickers were on song in a dominant second-half performance against an under-strength Lions, and will be better for the run on-field and in their singing of the team song after the match.
Song sheets were distributed around the rooms as many of the new-look Pickers joined in their first rendition of the club’s victory song.
While Tilse and Dorn both had tremendous individual games, their on-field leadership was the key ingredient in the victory with the whole squad responding with a unified defensive effort for the entire game and enterprise in attack in the second half.
The Pickers used their bench to great effect with front-rowers Jacob Sinclair and Rob Mason giving the Lions no let-up as starting forwards Tilse and Brenton Horwood were rested.
Back-rowers Pat Robards and Tylar Carter were manful in defence and cut-off any Souths raids out wide with centre pairing Jarren Costelloe and George O’Brien.
Wings Jackson Tynan and Liam Faughlin and halfback Blake Birch were among the Pickers best and will be great additions to the squad.
Pickers coach Trevor Ott said the team put a lot of pressure on themselves in the first half with only seven completions from 17 sets.
“To be still in the game our defensive effort was enormous. I was pretty confident that once we could control the ball we would control the game. Eventually that happened,” he said.
“We won’t get ahead of ourselves, they had plenty of players missing, but you can only beat who they put out on the field.
“A lot of the younger guys have seen what it takes to win a football match and they will learn a lot from that.
“I thought Tilse was outstanding, the way he hunted from the inside and took the ball forward when he needed to.
Dorny’s touches were just class and that helps the players around him. Our wingers were terrific today, but it was a great effort right across the board.”
Only a superb defensive effort prevented Maitland from being further behind at the break with the Pickers completing just seven of 17 sets and continually giving the ball to the Lions in attacking positions.
But the Pickers managed to score on two of their limited raids into Souths territory and their forwards led by Tilse were giving the Lions defence all sorts of trouble.
In the rooms at half-time Dorn and coach Trevor Ott praised the team’s defensive effort and said if they could maintain possession the points and a win would come.
The Pickers responded and it was one-way traffic apart from a superb solo effort by Souths wing Lachlan Walmsley who caught a short kick-off and then raced 25 metres to score.
After being off-target with his two kicks in the first half Blake Birch slotted home six from six in the second.
The Pickers tries were scored by Liam Faughlin, George O’Brien, Jackson Tynan, Dane Tilse, Pat Robards and Michael Dent.