After premiership celebrations the Maitland Pickers will turn their attention to another President's Cup campaign when they take on Forbes Magpies in the semi-final stages at Parkes next Saturday.
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Maitland produced an outstanding performance when it mattered most to cap off an impressive three-year period and claim the club's first Newcastle Rugby League premiership in over a decade on Sunday.
The Pickers proved too strong across the park with slick attack and tough defence, running out 40-4 victors over Macquarie in the 2022 grand final at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Maitland won the 2020 President's Cup when it was a stand alone competition featuring nine teams from across the state, defeating Glebe Wolves 17-16 in the grand final.
The win means the Pickers advance to the NSW Rugby League (NSWRL) President's Cup and take on Peter McDonald Premiership champions Forbes Magpies who will represent the western area after defeating Dubbo CYMS in the decider earlier this month.
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The bulk of the Pickers group have been together since 2020, winning a state President's Cup - a competition that featured both Dubbo CYMS and the Western Rams - and a Newcastle RL minor premiership amid the previous two COVID-impacted seasons.
September 11 was the culmination of all that according to Maitland coach Matt Lantry, who says he got a glimpse of what was in store for the decider at training earlier this week.
"It's an enjoyable experience winning competitions and it's hard to describe," Lantry said among the celebrations.
"There's a little bit of relief involved as well being three years in the making, finally getting an opportunity to do it and then performing the way we did.
"I thought we were pretty clinical. We had a really good week and managed the last month well only playing two games in four weeks which is the route anyone wants to take.
"But after Thursday night I got home and thought it was scary how well we trained. I knew they were on and the conditioning wouldn't worry us."
Pickers No.7 and former NRL star Brock Lamb scored 20 of his team's total on Sunday, crossing for a try when both Macquarie pair Royce Geoffrey and Liam Higgins were sin binned separately in each half.
Josh Callinan
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
