Thornton spinner Dan Willis was man of the match finishing with the outstanding figures of 5/19 for Maitland

He was pushed for the honour, with Kurri Weston’s Danial Foster smashing 73 to set up Maitland’s 297.

It was back-to-back John Bull Shield titles for Maitland and successive man of the final awards for Willis who picked up four wickets in last season’s win against Singleton.

It was a fine effort by Upper Hunter to make the final after several years absence from the competition.

But this Maitland team was an incredibly hard nut to crack and captain Tom Irwin praised them for endeavour and team spirit over the campaign.

“We’ve only used 15 players over the campaign, which shows a real dedication by all the players involved,” he said.

“It really has been a pleasure to play with the guys, they are a terrific bunch of blokes.”

Maitland got off to a strong start with the top three making 140 between them in just 16 overs. Josh Tuckwell was out for 28, Ricky Dent made 54 and Casey Capper 25.

Skipper Irwin contributed 30 in smart time, but everyone was dawdling in comparison with Foster who clubbed six sixes and four fours in his 73.

“I was pretty buggered by the end, I don’t think I’ve run so many two and even threes as I did today,” Foster said.

Hayden Quinlivan was the pick of the Upper Hunter bowlers taking 4-47.

Upper Hunter captain Broque Smith praised his team for their efforts in making the final, but he said Maitland were the outstanding team of the competition this year and deserved the trophy.

“We’ll be back next year, but Maitland were too good for us,” he said.