The Cessnock Goannas defeated the Maitland Pickers 10-6 in a dour, error-ridden clash at Cessnock Sportsground on Saturday.
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Neither side was able to score in the second half, with a strong defensive effort by the Goannas keeping the Pickers at bay.
Another strong effort by the Pickers forwards, led by Jacob Sinclair and Brenton Horwood, and plenty of enterprise from Josh Morrison filling in at fullback had the Goannas on the back foot.
However, it was a case of another lost opportunity for the Pickers who blew several promising attacking moves with forward passes and dropped balls.
“Our effort was terrific, our execution let us down. We were our worst enemies,” Pickers coach Trevor Ott said.
“We lacked someone to take control in the vital stages. I thought their kicking game was crucial in the outcome.”
Chris Pyne and Jack Antcliffe scored for Cessnock, while Horwood got the Pickers try, which was converted by Geordie Connelly, who had another strong game for Maitland playing out of position
Goannas coach Dan Smailes was pleased to get the points from the dour affair.
“We defended our line for a fair stretch there, which was good because we haven't been able to do that lately, but our ball control was poor,” Smailes said.
He said Brendan Hlad and Kori Barber were strong for Cessnock, who lost Robert Tuliatu to a fractured jaw sustained in a head clash.
Cessnock 10 def Maitland 6
Cessnock: Tries: C Pyne, J Jones-Antcliffe. Goals: B Mendyk 1.
Maitland: TryL B Horwood. Goals: G Connelly 1.
