WESTERN Suburbs have claimed their first win of the Newcastle Rugby League season, making quite the statement by knocking off two-time defending premiers Maitland.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Rosellas shot out of the gates to lead by 24 points at the break and staved off a second-half comeback by the Pickers, eventually prevailing 36-30 at Harker Oval on Sunday.
Putting behind them a loss and draw from the opening rounds, Wests not only got the job done but handed their opponents a rare defeat with Maitland having enjoyed a dominant run across all competitions since 2020.
Rosellas second-rower Liam Wiscombe, who was later put on report, opened the scoring inside two minutes before Pickers centre Matt Soper-Lawler replied.
It was all one-way traffic for the next half hour as Wests crossed another four times to lead 30-6.
The Pickers got back to 30-18 soon after the change of ends and within a converted try inside the final minute.
There were four simultaneous Newcastle RL matches played on Sunday, including two rescheduled from last weekend, with Souths, Lakes and Macquarie the other clubs to taste success.
Souths won 24-6 after managing to keep Central scoreless in the second half at Townson Oval.
Lakes produced the only points after half-time at Cahill Oval, defeating Wyong 20-14.
Macquarie beat visiting Northern Hawks 34-20.
The Entrance had the bye.
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.
