JAYDEN Butterfield admits he was running on "pure adrenaline" in last year's grand final.
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A captain's run for the Pickers prop at McDonald Jones Stadium turned into contractions for pregnant wife Olivia at home in Branxton, followed by a trip to the hospital, arrival of first child Hayes later that night and backed up by a man-of-the-match performance in the decider the very next day.
Maitland return to Newcastle Rugby League's title showdown in 2023, tackling Souths on Saturday (2pm), but this time around Butterfield will have some extra support in the grandstands.
"He [Hayes] turns one next week. It's gone so quick. Hopefully he's as lucky as he was last year," Butterfield told the Newcastle Herald.
"They [wife and son] will be in the grandstand cheering me on."
Butterfield reckons that 24 hours of his life was "all a blur" and predicts a much "smoother lead in" 12 months down the track.
"The morning of the captain's run my partner Olivia woke up and started having contractions and that's when I started getting nervous," he said.
"I went down to Newy, but I got home and the contractions were getting worse. We went to the hospital and Hayes was born [later that night] around 10 o'clock.
"Olivia needed surgery and didn't come out until 2.30 [am] on grand final day. My mother-in-law took over [support role] and I went to my mum and dad's place to get some sleep.
"I woke up about four hours later, went back to the hospital, stayed until 10 [am], got myself to Club Maitland City, hopped on a bus and played a grand final."
Butterfield, now 25, was a West Maitland junior on the hill at No.1 Sportsground the last time the Pickers claimed back-to-back premierships in 2011.
"I went to that one with my dad. I remember Maitland winning. There were thousands of people there and you couldn't move on the hill. It was packed," he said.
Butterfield, who was part of the same Australian Schoolboys squad as NRL stars Nathan Cleary, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Cameron Murray, has the chance to produce a personal clean sweep this season with Maitland already minor premiers and having earlier struck representative success for both the Newcastle Rebels and NSW Country.
He lines up alongside James Taylor in the front-row, starting against Souths pair Brendon Simpson and Frank-Paul Nu'uasala.
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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.
