BY ALEX TIGANI
It is official. Maitland will be playing against the Sydney boys in 2020.
Former Singleton Greyhounds James Bradley and Ethan Edwards could be rubbing shoulders with the nation’s best local players after the Maitland Pickers were accepted into the NSW Rugby League Presidents Cup this week.
The Pickers will play alongside regional-based teams Western NSW and Dubbo as well as North Sydney, Wentworthville, Hills District and Glebe-Burwood.
The highly anticipated series, which replaces the Ron Massey Cup for 2020, will kick off on Saturday, July 18.
It will be a huge weekend with the Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership and the Sydney Shield also kicking off.
All three major competitions will have seven teams, playing over seven rounds (each team will play every other team once plus a bye) followed by a four-week finals series with a gala grand final weekend on 26-27 September.
The proud club, coached by Matt Lantry (former Greta Branxton) and under-19 mentor Jye Bayley (former Singleton Greyhounds), will have three men’s sides this winter with the bottom two grades remaining in the Newcastle competition.
Other Singleton names linked with the side include Cooper Harris and Oliver Moody.
If social distancing rules continue to ease, then the Pickers may attract larger crowds in 2020 as well after the Maitland Blacks (rugby union) opted not to participate in the Newcastle Hunter Rugby Union Rams Cup men’s competition.
