Hunter Rugby: Maitland centre Caileb Gerrard gets love Blacks for footy

After making his first-grade debut for junior club Lake Macquarie as a 17-year-old, the powerhouse centre had floated between the Roos, Southern Beaches, Hamilton and the Hunter Wildfires.

At age 22, he was cooked.

Then his boss, Joel Barry, whose landscape business is one of Maitland's major supporters, lured Gerrard to sponsors' day at Marcellin Park.

Last Saturday, just over a year after Maitland coach Luke Cunningham twisted Gerrard's arm over a couple of drinks to have a game, the centre was handed the Blacks captaincy.

"I was going to pull the pin. I was over footy," Gerrard said.

"Joel installed the faith back in me. He said 'you are a good footy player, don't give it up'.

"It wasn't until this year that I really started enjoying it again. Now I look forward to every weekend.

"I think it is the culture at Maitland. It is a really good family club. Having my brother, Justis, here helps. That makes it pretty special."

Still the captaincy, albeit in the absence of regular skipper Harry Chapman, was "unexpected".

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Gerrard responded with four tries in a 64-5 win over Singleton at Rugby Park. Gerrard's haul against the Bulls took his tally to 10 in the past six games.

"Caileb has been playing really well and has matured into a senior player in the team," Cunningham said. "The captaincy was a reward for all his hard work.

"He was pretty honoured. It's not a job we give out willy-nilly at Maitland. There is a bit of prestige attached to it.

"I said to him: 'you don't need to reinvent the wheel, just keep playing the way you are and the boys will follow'.

"He only talks when he has to, but a lot of the guys feed off his actions. From kick-off he was extremely switched on. His first couple of touches were pretty potent. The rest of the game flowed on nicely from that."

Chapman resumes as captain against Nelson Bay, but the Gerrard brothers will be key in the Blacks' push for a first premiership since 1999.

"Caileb's biggest attribute is that he is a competitor," Cunningham said. "He competes in everything. Defensively he is very strong. With the ball, he has the ability to beat the first bloke one-on-one and put his outside men into space.

"Justis has also been going really well. He started the year in the back-row and we moved him into prop. His set piece is improving every week and his strong carries have been getting us out of some sticky situations.

"They are both very competitive against each other. There is plenty of friendly brotherly banter. They keep each other honest and drive each other."