The Maitland Pickers 10-game winning streak is alive but only after they survived a huge scare from the bottom of the table South Newcastle Lions at Townson Oval on Sunday.
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The Pickers ran out 24-16 winners courtesy of three tries in the final 13 minutes to break a 12-all deadlock.
"To be honest I think they were the better team on the day but we got the win," Maitland coach Matt Lantry said.
"I thought Souths were great, they executed well and we were a bit off pace.
"I don't think their position on the table is reflective of the quality they've got.
"They've been in most contests and like today they've just struggled to find a way to win."
Matt Soper-Lawler opened the scoring for the Pickers scoring a try in the 29th minute to square the ledger after Souths' Marshall Sing scored the first of his hat-trick to open proceedings in the 7th minute.
The scores were locked at 6-6 at half-time. Sing gave the Lions the lead after the break until Thomas Cant scored for the Pickers in the 67th minute to level things up.
Soper-Lawler got his second in the 73rd minute and Chad O'Donnell sealed the deal with a try in the 76tth .
However, Sing and the Lions weren't done and he crossed for his hat-trick in the final minute.
Brock Lamb converted all four Maitland goals.
Lantry was proud of the Pickers ability to way to win under pressure and not playing well.
"Credit to our guys they come up with some errors and put ourselves under a little bit of pressure but hung in there without playing well and still found a way to win," he said.
"I think we will take a fair bit from that game.
"We haven't had a game where we've really had to come from behind and chase the game a little bit.
"We haven't had a game where we have had to go down to the last 10 minutes where we are behind or like today 12-all.
"It was good to see us in that position and find a way to win.
"I think the key thing I take out of the game is that ability to win when things are just not falling how they normally would for us.
"We stood up, the three tries in 10 minutes wasn't just a matter of pushing the go button and that we decided to play.
"We found opportunities to execute for points particularly when we had been a bit frustrated with our attack on some poor execution."
Lantry said he was looking forward to the unexpected Covid-draw break next weekend with Lakes United unable to field a first grade team because of the Covid lockdown on the Central Coast.
"We needed that challenge. I thought our start today was reflective of a team which was just a bit flat," he said.
"We're in a position now where we can rest up and just recharge our batteries a little bit.
"We can then come back for a big month of footy before the finals."
