A trio of teenage Maitland sporting stars are making their mark on the national and international stage in cricket and rugby league.
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Cricket star Will Fort made a fine 72 to help steer NSW Country/ACT to a big win against WA in round three of the Australian Under-19 Cricket Championships in South Australia.
Across the other side of the globe Maitland Pickers juniors Jock Madden and Timanu Alexander featured in the Australian Schoolboys’ 30-18 win against Lancashire Academy.
The two former All Saints College St Mary’s Campus students will be vying for spots in the Australian team to play the English Academy on Saturday.
The Australian team has a second Test against the English on Friday, December 14.
Australia has made an unbeaten start to the UK tour beating England Colleges 92-0 at Newcastle's Kingston Park and the Yorkshire Academy 30-22 in Castleford and then Lancashire Academy at the Manchester Regional Arena last Saturday
Halfback Madden and second-rower Alexander were key members of the NSW Combined Catholic College team which won the Australian schools title and then helped St Mary’s College on a record-breaking run in the NRL Schoolboys Cup.
The duo were also part of the Pickers under-19 premiership team.
Madden, who is a great-nephew of Pickers legend Bandy Adams, will play with Wests Tigers next season and Alexander has signed with the Newcastle Knights Under-20 team.
Fort, 17, at his second Australian Under-19 championships is this year playing with the Country NSW/ACT team after being part of the Australian under-17 team last year.
A prodigiously talented cricketer, he made his debut last month for Northern District in the Sydney first grade competition.
He played first grade cricket for Northern Suburbs in the Maitland competition the previous two seasons.
ACT/NSW Country is undefeated after the opening three games of the championships beating Vic Country by four wickets in round one with Fort making 20 at the top of the innings.
They beat South Australia with two balls to spare in round two chasing a target of 201.
In yesterday’t round three encounter, Fort anchored the innings with 72 and then took three catches in the field as they made 4/295 against WA and then bundled them out cheaply.
ACT/NSW Country tops pool B in which they are drawn against SA, WA, Vic Country and the Northern Territory. They play the NT on Friday.
