There was no hiding the unbridled enthusiasm on the faces of every one of the 20 juniors taking part in the training session with the Maitland Pickers' senior coaching staff at Maitland Sportsground on Tuesday night.
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This was no normal training session. Every player's eyes and ears were firmly directed at every word and gesture from the coaches.
When the senior players, led by first grade forwards Jayden Butterfield and Peter Cronin, joined them the intensity rose another notch and the telltale smiles broadened even further.
The youngsters are enthusiastic backers of the Pickers' plans to field under-16 and under-17 teams in 2020 and beyond.
All have their fingers crossed that the club wins an appeal to the NSW Rugby League to overturn the Newcastle-Central Coast Regional Rugby League management's decision to reject Maitland's bid.
Sitting in the grandstand with a group of fellow parents, Corey Lee pointed in the direction of the group, saying "at last it's about them".
They were sentiments shared by a group of parents representing the junior feeder clubs East Maitland, West Maitland and Thornton Beresfield who struggled to field under-15 and 16s teams last year and are worried about whether their sons will have a team to play with in 2020.
"At the meeting to talk about consolidating the under-16s and under-17s at the Pickers, the league officials opposed to the move talked about process, they talked about this, they talked about that, not once did they talk about the boys," Lee said.
"That was the disappointing thing. The boys aren't part of the agenda, it is about the 'game' and that is really disappointing as a league lover."
Lee and fellow parents Bryan Robb, Roland Whitby and Paul Callinan have no doubts that establishing under-16 and under-17 teams under the collective Pickers banner is in their sons' best interest.
"The boys are passionate about it, they want that pathway to come and play for the Pickers because their junior clubs all but finish at under-16s. It really stops there," Callinan said.
"They can say there are other options but there aren't seriously. The best option other than playing here (the Pickers) for my son Darcy is that he goes to Cessnock.
"They are talking about the impact on families, travel and all that, but that's going to have a huge impact because two nights a week we have to head out that way and I've got five other kids and two businesses.
"We'll support him in what he wants to do, but the best option, the most sensible option is for him to play here in the district competition and having access to these type of fantastic facilities and excellent coaching."
Whitby, a former Maitland Pickers first grader, and Lee said their clubs, Thornton-Beresfield and East Maitland respectively, were unlikely to be able to field under-16 teams next year.
"Apart from the development side of it, and obviously a higher-standard development, I see it as a real safety concern," Whitby said.
"Both Corey and I coached under-15 sides last year and participated with bare numbers. It's just not working, the kids are leaving the game. The numbers are not getting any better at 16s and 17s.
"Yet the powers that be are happy to see teams go out and compete in under-16s first division with minimal numbers against West Newcastle, Raymond Terrace with 17 and 18 players.
"They are bringing on six fresh players a time off the interchange and we have bare numbers. Its dangerous."
Former Maitland junior and Kurri Kurri first grader Bryan Robb said the powers that be couldn't grasp the difference between registered numbers of players and the numbers available on match-day.
"Clearly they're not realising that the affiliate clubs are experiencing difficulties in maintaining the 16s and 17s teams," Robb said. "There seems to be some concern about a Maitland super team, but the bigger worry is that there will be no Maitland district team in first division.
"If we join together the Pickers can field multiple teams in the various divisions and all the boys are in the same development system. It's just boys in the Maitland district who want to play football and stay in the local area.
"If they can't play, they will go to rugby union, basketball and the like.
"We just want the politics taken out of it for the interest of the boys."
