Hunter Rugby Union, 2023: Davidson leads Blacks to emotion-charged triumph over Wanderers

With Maitland trailing Wanderers 17-10 and time running out at Marcellin Park on Saturday, Nick Davidson did what Nick Davidson does.

He took a short ball of fly-half Hare Meihana and charged into the Two Blues defence. Legs pumping, Davo carried four defenders on his back in an inspirational 15 metre surge.

The rest of the Blacks jumped on board.

"We got in behind them and the tempo and intensity lifted," Maitland coach Luke Cunningham said.

Pat Robards crossed in the 71st minute to level at 17-all. Then, with five minutes remaining, winger Aidan Precopis finished a raid down the short side for the match-winner.

Davidson's father Ian "Doc" Macdonald lost his battle with illness last week.

Doc had been a massive contributor - as a supporter and club doctor - at the Blacks for more than 40 years.

"Sometimes that emotion can cause a player to go either way," Cunningham said. "In true Davo fashion, he was enormous. Every time he carried the ball, he got over the ad-line and carried three guys.

"I gave Nick the option [of not playing]. He was adamant that he wanted to play. Doc, his dad, has been a huge part of our club for a long time. A lot of guys would end up on his kitchen table on a Saturday night getting stitched up. He was a very well liked, and a guy who captivated a room whenever he spoke."

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It was the second straight game in which the Blacks had come from behind to win and strengthened their grip on second place.

"These guys are starting to realise that we have the personnel, and it is just a shift in attitude," Cunningham said. "The hunger of the young fellas to succeed is growing every week.

"From a team perspective, it keeps us within reach of Carlton. I will give the boys this week of training to rest the bodies. We will come back ready to have a crack at Carlton in two weeks."

Defending premiers Merewether stretched their winning start to the season to eight, with a 42-5 smash up of third-placed University at Townson Oval.

The Students lost fly-half Dane Sharrett to a serious knee injury early and never recovered.

The Greens led 21-5 at half-time and added another three tries after the break.

"Our whole game plan went out the window," University coach Sam Berry said. 'We moved Josh Meads to 10. He is a runner of the football and he ran the ball really well. He is just not a distributor.

"We didn't challenge the Greens enough. When they wanted to turn it on, they found a few holes and were just too good."

Sharrett suffered medial ligament damage in his right knee when he was cleaned out at a ruck and faces at least a month on the sideline.

'It's a grade-2 medial tear," Berry said. 'Best case scenarior is four weeks. I have done a similar injury in the past and it is probably six weeks before you are comfortable to play. We also lost Gem George, our six, to a dislocated elbow."

At Ernie Calland Oval, Hamilton scored two tries in the final 10 minutes to record a hard-fought 28-13 win over Southern Beaches.