The Maitland Pickers launched their 2022 season with some help from homegrown Australian and NSW Blues legend Greg Bird at Club Maitland City.
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The Pickers also unveiled the next chapter of the club's evolution with the inaugural Maitland Pickers netball team to join the men's league and Ladies League Tag sides in 2022.
The Pickers will run under-17s, under-19s, Open Age, Reserves and First Grade teams and the League Tag team has been boosted with the inclusion of several players from the Aberglasslyn Ants who have dropped out of A-grade.
To the delight and amusement of his hometown fans, Bird shared anecdotes from his junior career with current Pickers coach Matt Lantry which included an Under-17 premiership with Maitland.
Bird remembered lack of opportunities at the Knights had fuelled a desire to get even with players from Macquarie and Wests when he went back to play for Maitland and led to the success in the Under-17 premiership.
He also took the audience through the highs and lows of his NRL, Origin and Australian career and his time with Catalan Dragons in Super League as a player for three years and coach for two.
Bird said delays in his return to Australia because of COVID restrictions meant that his coaching plans had been put on hold for this season, but he would be pulling the boots back on at Southport Tigers courtesy of a package from billionaire Queenslander Clive Palmer.
Pickers president Frank Lawler said the club was excited about establishing a netball team which will be captained by multiple A-grade netball premiership player Kellyann Grayson.
"We're really excited to have the netball team and where that takes the club and where that goes to," Lawler said.
"It will be exciting to have netball and the Ladies League Tag as well. Ladies sports has really taken off in Australia over the last four years and we want to be part of it."
The Pickers also unveiled another recruit with former Kurri Kurri Bulldogs forward Reid Alchin joining the club.
Alchin had signed to play with the Newtown Jets, but work commitments with the Maitland City Council restricted opportunities to train with the Jets.
Alchin said he had opted for a fresh start and signed with the Pickers rather than return to the Bulldogs.
"I've loved my times at Kurri, but when things fell through with the Jets I just felt it was an opportunity for a completely fresh start and I was impressed with the Pickers set up and what they were doing," he said.
