Two games and two wins into the season, the Maitland Pickers are finding ways to win despite being well below their best.
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While Saturday's 27-20 win against Central at Maitland Sportsground was still plagued with errors they showed plenty of muscle in defence to ensure they did not pay.
There were also some glimpses of real attacking spark and class which left the big contingent of Pickers Old Boys on the hill on their feet and applauding.
"I thought we were probably a bit better than the scoreboard showed, but two from two at the start of the season we'll take that any day of the week," Pickers coach Luke Dorn said after the match.
"There's a real belief within the group, a real trust and that's encouraging and really great to see.
"Two tries from one-on-one misses and one from a grubber close to our line, we take those out and we are a real force in the game.
"We've got to be better, there is no doubt about that."
Dorn said errors prevented his team from building the sustained level of pressure they wanted.
"It's not hard to build pressure if you've got the right application. Trust in the process, find a way to do it and you've just got to be relentless with it," he said
"Probably one of the hardest things is to be able to continually to do it for the full extent of the game.
That is a big learning curve for us, for our halves and our No.9s to learn that side of the game and when we get that we are going to be a real handful."
Dorn said he had given his players a lot of freedom to play "eyes up footy".
"A lot of our pre-season has been about playing what's in front of you and taking an opportunity. Is there more space on this side or that side? That's the type of thing we are looking at.
"We've got a lot of improvement in us, but we're in a good spot at the moment because we are finding a way to win.
"If you can find a way to win and add some polish down the track you know you've got a good team on your hands."
The Pickers has have set up top of the table clash against Western Suburbs.
The two teams meet in a rare Sunday fixture at Maitland Sportsground next week with both teams undefeated after two rounds.
The Rosellas accounted for Kurri Kurri Bulldogs defeating them 38-16 at Harker Oval.
The Pickers threatened to blow the Butcher Boys away, but were guilty of too many errors in possession.
However, they manned up in defence and repeatedly forced turnovers early in the count through pressure off the line.
To their credit, Central refused to lie down and made Maitland work hard for the two points.
In the end the forwards gave the Pickers backs a strong platform and they were able to keep Central at bay through a double to wing Elijah Rasiga in just three minutes on the left edge and a try to Matt Allwood who made a late cameo on debut.
The forwards were rewarded for their hard work in the first half with skipper Sam Anderson barging across the open the scoring and Jayden Butterfield also too strong.
A drop goal by Tyler Perrin in the last play before the break took Maitland to a 13-6 lead.
Frazer Price landed the two conversions in the first half and kicked a penalty goal in the second.
The two halves are continuing to combine well and make smart decisions in attack.
Maitland's on-field generals and joint skipper Anderson and Matt Horwood were outstanding and were joined with strong games by Peter Cronin, Jayden Butterfield and Scott Williams.
Shay Padburg and Hayden Grainger continue to cause real problems for opponents through dummy-half.
The young backline had another fine game with a double to Rasiga, Isaac Uptown good at fullback, Geordie Connelly and Gary Anderson strong in the centres and Morris looking likely to make a break every time he gets the ball.