Maitland coach Michael Bolch believes his side's tough late run to the premiership will put them in good stead for the NPL finals after a well-earned week off.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The Magpies cemented their second premiership with a 3-1 win over 2021 title-holders Lambton Jaffas on Sunday at Edden Oval, going to 42 points and one clear of Broadmeadow. Their other premiership came in 2019 - the last time a full home-and-away NPL season was completed before two COVID-shortened campaigns.
The success ensures Maitland a much-needed break while Broadmeadow take on Jaffas (38 points) on Sunday at Magic Park for the chance to meet the Magpies in a grand final qualifier.
Bolch said "he couldn't be prouder" of his side on Sunday and across the intense final weeks of the regular season, which included wins over Magic 3-2, Edgeworth 3-1 and a stoppage-time 2-1 loss to Olympic.
"It's been one of the closest comps I've been involved in," the veteran coach said.
"It came down to the last day and any of three clubs could have won, and the same with the battle for fifth spot.
"Full credit to the boys. It's all been about Magic, Jaffas or Azzurri most of the year, and you know I like to fly under the radar and not talk it up too much, but I couldn't be more proud of the group.
"The run home, we had to beat Magic at Broadmeadow, Edgeworth have always been a nemeses of ours and we beat them at home last week, then to finish off and beat Jaffas at Jaffas, you couldn't have scripted it better."
He welcomed the week off and said the late-season surge will have them ready for the play-offs.
"There were a lot of sore boys by the end, it was a pretty heavy pitch," he said.
"We'll just recover for the first half of the week and then we'll put in a couple of hard, sharp sessions late in the week before going to watch the semi-finals.
"Preparing them for the next few weeks is the next battle, but we've been playing semi-final football for the last four weeks. Against Magic, Edgy, Olympic and Jaffas, we've had a tough run home."
While Braedyn Crowley was the star on Sunday with a hat-trick, taking his golden boot tally to 27, Bolch was most pleased with his side's defence.
"We scrambled really well defensively," he said.
"I thought we defended in our structure really well and nullified a lot of their movement in the front third. I thought Zach [Thomas] and Will [McFarlane] had their best games of the year together [at the back].
"It's not all about one bloke. They all talk about Jimmy [Thompson] and Crowley, but it was a complete defensive effort from the whole group.
"There were times where we had our backs to the wall and no one went missing.
"Crowls was there to finish the goals but there was a lot of lead-up work to them."
"The first goal was outstanding, the build up play from Jimmy and just the weight of the pass behind the defence, Crowls just had to finish."
Asked to compare this premiership to the club's first top-division crown in 2019, Bolch said: "They are all special, I've been doing it 25 years now.
"But like I said to the group before the game, you don't put yourself in this position every season.
"We spoke about the [Australia] Cup, and we lost that in a couple of little moments trying to get a spot in the last 32 [against Magic], and we spoke about making little moments count and this is another chance for us to get our hands on a trophy.
"And we won all those moments, we won the 50-50 battles and it's full reward for the effort the boys put in."
IN THE NEWS:
WHAT DO YOU THINK? We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Newcastle Herald website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.
