The Maitland Pickers have become the new dominant force in A-grade Ladies League Tag completing a clean sweep of opponents with a 30-6 win over Kotara Bears last Saturday.
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The Pickers have five wins from five games and face bottom placed Cessnock at Cessnock Sportsground on Saturday.
Maitland have wins over all five opponents, mirroring the first grade men's unbeaten record in eight games.
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Pickers coach Logan Redman said it was the best start by the team in his three years with them.
"We've got a really good talented team this year with plenty of depth and quality across the field in multiple positions," Redman said.
"Good result so far, we're five and 0 and want to keep that momentum going for the rest of the season."
Redman said experience showed defence was the key to success in league tag.
"The most important thing when it comes to a game of league tag is if you get your defence right the rest sort of follows," he said.
"It's a funny game, one miss tag can change the momentum.
"Our goal on Saturday will be keep them to 0 and the points should start to flow from that for us."
Redman said while it was hard to single out standout individuals as the whole team had been performing across the board, the Hughes sisters Ainsley and Estelle as well as 2022 recruit Shae Ross from the Aberglasslyn Ants had probably been the most consistent.
Estelle Hughes is the competition's leading try and point scorer with eight tries so far this season and 60 points. Heidi Weimer is equal second in the competition with five tries.
In a measure of Maitland's scoring power they have accumulated 148 points for and just 12 against.
Their nearest rival Raymond Terrace, who have three wins from four games, have scored 96 four and 28 against.
The Pickers LLT team and A-grade open age men's team both compete under the Newcastle and Hunter Rugby League umbrella.
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The open age team are still chasing their first win after four games. They face second-placed Woodberry Warriors, who have three wins from games, in Fred Harvey Oval on Saturday.
The Pickers first grade, reserve grade and under-19s are all away to Macquarie Scorpions on Saturday.
Unfortunately, the Pickers LLT team's wins do not count towards the Newcastle RL Club Championship, but the club has 47 points establishing a 15 point lead over second placed South Newcastle on 32 with Macquarie third on 29 and Central fourth on 25.
The Pickers won the Club Championship last season.
Under the Club Championship, four points are awarded for a win in first grade, two points for reserve grade and one point for under-19s.
The Pickers reserves, who are top of the table with six wins from seven games, dropped their first points last week losing 14-0 to Souths. The under-19s drew 16-all with Souths to sit third on the ladder with three wins and a draw.