It's almost 10 years to the day since the Maitland Pickers ended a 27-year premiership drought by beating Cessnock 24-8 in the 2010 Newcastle Rugby League grand final.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The loss was the Goannas' third-straight grand final defeat and a sad end for their coach Todd Edwards who announced midway through the season this would be his last at the helm of Cessnock.
The Pickers went on to claim back to back titles in 2011 when halfback Mick Moran kicked a 35-metre field goal into a strong southerly to beat Western Suburbs 19-18 in golden point.
It was a remarkable effort after the Pickers had only returned to the competition in 2009 after being in a financial mess and unable to field sides.
Ten years on and Maitland are playing for a spot in their first grand final since the memorable 2010-11 double but this time it is in President's Cup against some of the best teams from across regional and metropolitan NSW.
They host Hills Bulls and victory will deliver them a place in next Sunday's grand final between the winner of today's other semi-final between North Sydney Bears and Glebe-Burwood Wolves.
The last time the Pickers and Bulls played was in round 3 when Maitland won a tight 22-18 contest.
In a fitting connection to 2010, Maitland play a Cessncock side coached by Todd Edwards on track to make the Newcastle competition grand final again.
