“Milestone man” Jayden Butterfield capped off his 100th appearance in fine style by scoring the match-winner in the Maitland Pickers’ 24-16 triumph over the Cessnock Goannas.
With the game on the line, and two minutes remaining on the clock, the local junior smashed his way through the defence to seal the hard-fought victory on Saturday 24 June, much to the delight of the vocal crowd at No 1 Sportsground.
The thrilling result was also the icing on the cake for the Tooheys Newcastle Rugby League club, as it not only celebrated Sponsors’ Day at the weekend but also the feats of its 1983 premiership-winning team, which included captain-coach Robert Finch, Phil Amidy, Wayne Buckley, Milton Burrows, Michael Byrne, Kyle Connor, John Crooks, Michael Finch, Chris Guider, Greg Guider, Darren Meredith, Chris O’Neill, David Trewhella and Peter Walsh.
However, a gutsy Cessnock outfit – missing at least eight regular first-graders as well as leader Harry Siejka – nearly spoiled the party.
In fact, the Goannas led 16-6 midway through the second half, inspired by hooker Luke Huth and fullback Brayden Musgrove, but they fell just short of the mark.
“Of course, you’d like to win… however, it wasn’t to be [today],” Siejka said.
“I’m not too upset, I couldn’t fault the boys’ effort.
“We’ll be fine at the business end of the season.”
Tries to hard-working Lincoln Smith, winger Bailey Taylor and Butterfield in the final 17 minutes kept Maitland on track to secure the minor premiership with only a handful of rounds outstanding.
But, Pickers mentor Matt Lantry admitted his side was lucky to escape unscathed.
“It wasn’t our best performance,” he said.
“Credit to Cessnock, I actually thought they were the better team; they just ended up on the wrong end of the scoreline.
“The sad part is we’ve been playing like that for the past month or so.
“I haven’t been happy with our performances.
“Our attack last week was good, however again our attitude towards our defensive structure wasn’t great.
“In saying that, I’m proud of the way we showed some fight, to get back in the game and eventually go on and win.
“I believe the Goannas will feel hard done by though, they were by far the better side today.
“They had a lot of guys out, but so did we.
“Dan Langbridge and Reid Alchin; they’re two big losses for us.
“Then we lost strike players Luke Knight (hamstring strain) and Matt Soper-Lawler (quad strain).
“So, we had to make some adjustments to our outside backs.
“We did it the hard way.
“On a positive note, it’s good to see we can find other ways to win… not just lead by 20 and go on and prevail by 40.
“We had to fight tooth and nail to come from behind – and that’s what they did.”
Maitland sits atop of the ladder, with a four-point buffer from the South Newcastle Lions and Wyong Roos, who are one ahead of Cessnock.
“It will help,” Lantry told the Newcastle Weekly.
“I saw Harry’s (Siejka) comments the other day about no-one remembering the minor premiers and that’s 100% right.
“However, it’s about giving yourself a shot at the quickest pathway to a grand final.
“I think, last year, that was a blessing for us not having to play week-in week-out, carrying bumps and bruises.
“It might give those guys an opportunity to recover and be close to full fitness as much as they can.
“I’m certain the week off assists whoever finishes first.
“And, now, looking forward, the Lions and Roos are on the hunt as well.
“So, we need to stay on our toes and be better than what we were [today], especially if we’re going to be any sort of contender for the title.
“A depleted Goannas line-up really came out and put us on the backburner for a while… and it wasn’t until the final 20 that we clicked into gear.
“That’s something we’ll look at.”
The Pickers struck first when five-eighth Chad O’Donnell stepped back inside to wrong-foot his rivals. Brock Lamb converted for a 6-0 lead.
Play then ebbed and flowed for much of the period and it wasn’t until the 37th minute that Cessnock replied, via winger Honeti Tuha. Lucas Thomson failed to add the extras, the hosts enjoying a slender 6-4 advantage at the break.
The Goannas returned to the field impressively when playmaker Doug Beale split the defence and found an unmarked Huth in support. Thomson put the visitors ahead 10-6.
Soon after, Musgrove proved unstoppable with the ball in hand. Thomson made no mistake with the kick, extending the margin to 16-6.
The fixture turned on its head in the 63rd minute, with Smith running a brilliant line to touch down. Lamb raised the flags to narrow the gap 16-12.
Buoyed by the points, Maitland lifted a cog and Taylor then crossed over in the corner. A tremendous sideline conversion by Lamb saw the home team hit the front 18-16.
That’s when Butterfield rose to the occasion to wrap up the victory, aided by another Lamb goal.
In other encounters, on Saturday, the Roos beat the Macquarie Scorpions 33-14 and Carlin Pettet bagged a hat-trick as the Lions trounced the Kurri Kurri Bulldogs 64-6.
On Sunday, the Western Suburbs Rosellas hammered the Lakes United Seagulls 42-4, the Central Coast Butcher Boys upset The Entrance Tigers 24-18 and the Northern Hawks had the bye.
Tooheys Newcastle Rugby League
Denton Engineering Cup
Round 13 results:
- South Newcastle Lions d Kurri Kurri Bulldogs 64-6
- Maitland Pickers d Cessnock Goannas 24-16
- Wyong Roos d Macquarie Scorpions 33-14
- Western Suburbs Rosellas d Lakes United Seagulls 42-4
- Central Newcastle Butcher Boys d The Entrance Tigers 24-18
- Bye: Northern Hawks
Round 14 draw:
Saturday 1 July
- 2pm: Macquarie Scorpions v Western Suburbs Rosellas (Lyall Peacock Field)
- 3pm: Cessnock Goannas v Northern Hawks (Cessnock Sports Ground)
- 3pm: Lakes United Seagulls v Maitland Pickers (Cahill Oval)
- 3pm: Kurri Kurri Bulldogs v Wyong Roos (Kurri Kurri Sports Ground)
Sunday 2 July
- 3pm: Central Newcastle Butcher Boys v South Newcastle Lions (St John Oval)
- Bye: The Entrance Tigers
For more sports stories:
- Government renews funding for iconic Port Stephens regatta
- Hunter Netball: Metro girls produce outstanding effort
- Whitebridge High trio set for 2023 International Children’s Games
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