The Maitland Pickers might have entered the Sleapy’s Day clash with South Newcastle Lions understrength… but they had a secret weapon in their squad.
With no Brock Lamb, Reid Alchin, Sam Anderson, Mitchell Cullen, Daniel Langbridge, Faitotoa Faitotoa or Luke Knight in the line-up, many pundits thought the hosts would avenge last season’s loss on the Tooheys Newcastle Rugby League (NEWRL) club’s biggest event on the calendar.
However, for the second consecutive year, Matt Lantry’s men rose to the occasion, upstaging Souths 42-20 at Townson Oval on Saturday 10 August.
And, the presence of former Picker Hayden Moth could have played a major role.
“It was a great day, Sleapy’s Foundation needs to be commended for the work it does in the community,” Lantry stated.
“We’ve said all week there was a bigger story than just the battle of two quality teams going at it at 3pm.
“It was also about creating awareness for the charity and what they do for people, particularly within the Newcastle-Hunter Valley community.
“For us, they’ve helped three from our club, specifically Hayden, who we drew plenty of inspiration from.
“He was a special guest at training during the week and in the dressing sheds [today].
“It took an enormous amount of bravery and vulnerability for Hayden to stand up and chat to the group on Thursday night about his journey with cancer.
“One would never wish that upon anyone else.
“But, to see him walk in with a smile on his face and enjoy being part of today was fantastic.
“He’s an inspiring figure for our players, coaching staff and everyone involved.
“Hayden’s still turning up, fighting to prolong his life and, hopefully, he’ll continue to live healthy and happily.
“He’ll be a part of our footy club for the rest of the season.
“We want him around because he’s such a good character.”
With skipper, and man of the match, Alex Langbridge leading the way, along with front-rowers James Taylor and Jayden Butterfield, the Pickers ran in seven tries to four.
However, the result was probably the shake-up the Lions needed, too.
Souths led 4-0 early but trailed 20-8 by the break.
Maitland then ran away with the game in the second half.
It means the back-to-back Denton Engineering Cup champions have one hand on the 2024 minor premiership.
“We still have to win two more matches,” Lantry told the Newcastle Weekly.
“We need to respect that part of the competition and not get ahead of ourselves.
“But, if we’re going to go deep into this final series and give ourselves a chance to defend our premiership, our goal line defence has to be a lot better than what it was today.
“Irrespective of who steps into the side, they have that responsibility to go out onto the field and maintain our standards.
“Overall, I was very, very happy with that [effort].
“To be honest, I certainly didn’t see that performance coming.
“I did not think we’d rack up 40 points, that’s for sure.
“Souths are a tremendous team that defends well.
“So, to tick the scoreboard over the way we did, I thought we played a nice attractive brand of footy and took our opportunities.
“The disappointing aspect was leaking in 20 points.
“I thought the four tries we let in were soft… we need to be way better.
“On the whole, I’m really, really happy and proud of the guys.
“At the end of the day, all you can do is win.”
The Pickers will enjoy a bye in round 17 while the Lions face the Western Suburbs Rosellas.
For more sports stories:
- GALLERY: Sleapy’s Day another ‘amazing’ success
- Football legends Johnston, Slater bemoan state of the game
- John Quayle honoured to be NRL Hall of Fame inductee
Get all the latest Newcastle news, sport, real estate, entertainment, lifestyle and more delivered straight to your inbox with the Newcastle Weekly Daily Newsletter. Sign up here.
