The Maitland Pickers have been the team to beat all season in the Presidents Cup and their opponents on Sunday - the Glebe Burwood Wolves were the only ones to hand the powerhouses a 26-24 loss in Round 9, which makes this Grand Final match-up even more mouth-watering.
Apart from this defeat, the Pickers recorded an eight-game winning streak prior to that and got straight back to their winning ways the following week in the elimination semi final with a 16-14 win over Hills District Bulls.
Their impressive 288-point attacking record was created thanks to some heavy score lines throughout the season, which included a 58-4 win over Western Rams in Round 5, a 48-0 conquest over Western Suburbs Devils in Round 7 and a 46-16 defeat of the North Sydney Bears in Round 8.
Maitland boast attacking weapon and former Newcastle Knight Brock Lamb as their halfback, who is complemented by five-eighth Chad O’Donnell.
Despite playmaker O’Donnell leaving the field with what was feared to be an ACL injury in last week’s semi final, he has been named to play after scans revealed it was a medial strain.
He told the Maitland Mercury on Thursday: "There's a bit of a hill to climb but I'm fairly confident as it is only a medial strain. The swelling will need to come down in the next few days, which has started, and then playing through the pain and getting the job done.”
The team has also been steered by mainstay hooker Alex Langbridge, who set up his forwards for countless tries and is dangerous with a scoot himself.
His brother, Daniel, has caused the opposition plenty of headaches at fullback and he has his own impressive try scoring tally, along with winger James Bradley - who managed to score five tries in Round 7 and makes a regular appearance on the scoresheet.
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