It has been seven months since they first came together, but the Maitland Pickers under-17s have finally got to play a game last Saturday and secured a hard-fought 16-10 win against the Northern Hawks in the process.
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The team features players from West Maitland, Thornton Beresfield, East Maitland and Dungog and has been sidelined for the first three weeks of the Hunter Junior Rugby League season by washouts.
The try scorers for Maitland were Lachlan Paix, Kade Fabri and Riaahn Wihongi, while Jett Robards-Hassall kicked two conversions.
The Pickers host Kurri Kurri on Saturday at Salamander Sports Complex from 10.15am.
The Bulldogs sit second on the ladder with one win and a loss from their two games. They had a narrow 16-12 loss to competition leaders Lakes United on Thursday night.
Pickers under-17 coach Peter Sams said it was good to get the first game and win under their belt.
Sams said the team was listed as Thornton Beresfield in the competition and but wore Pickers jerseys and was firmly under the Maitland Pickers umbrella and an important part of the club.
"I was so proud of them on the weekend, they stuck to their guns and did the club proud," Sams said.
"We've been fighting to get them in the competition for seven months and we've actually been training for six months to the day.
"For them to do what they've done and stay resilient, because there was a lot of talk and innuendo through that six months that we wouldn't have a team, is a tremendous effort by the boys."
"I was telling them to 'stick together as we are going to fight for them and have a team' and so did John Hassall their manager and Andrew Carraro from the Pickers who does an amazing job with them.
"We've stuck together and it's built some resilience not only in the teams but in the managers and the parents as well and it will come back and benefit us later in the season."
Junior clubs from across the Maitland district including East Maitland, West Maitland, Morpeth, Thornton Beresfield, Woodberry and Dungog as well as Greta-Branxton, Kurri Kurri and Cessnock are running teams from under-6 to under-16 in the Hunter Junior Rugby League.