Saints captain Riley Newstead leads from front as Maitland eye key Singleton game

Maitland are in sixth position on the Black Diamond Cup ladder, two wins ahead of the Roosters in seventh. The two teams face off in round 10 on Saturday, June 17.

The teams played a thriller at Max McMahon Oval in round seven, the home side prevailing 51-47. Saints coach Dustin Spriggs said the rivalry dates back a number of years.

"We spoke about it after the game on Saturday, we have to go back to the three grand-finals we played in a row to find a bigger game," he said.

"They're sitting behind us on the ladder, it's probably getting to the point where they have to win all their games, win these types of games - it's season on the line stuff for them.

"We'd love to go to their home ground and knock them off, especially given how close the last game was, I'm sure they're going to be coming very hard at us."

Maitland are expecting five players to return for the Singleton game - Mitchell Greaves, Matthew Guy, Rywin Nock, Matthew Ireland and Xavier Russell. Russell has been playing for the Lavington Panthers in the strong Riverina competition.

The Saints will be chasing the important win after recording back-to-back losses against competition heavyweights Terrigal and Killarney Vale.

The Bombers, 2022 premiers, beat a typically dogged Maitland 58-20 at Max McMahon Oval on Saturday.

The Saints hit the scoreboard first and trailed 1.0-6 to 1.6-12 at the end of the first quarter. Five second-half majors to the visitors opened up an unassailable lead.

It was game 100 for Saints captain Riley Newstead. Spriggs said the 23-year-old should be proud of the achievement.

"He's very much a lead by example type of leader, especially being thrown into it at a young age," he said. "He wasn't a huge talker, he was more of a lead by example, lead by actions on the field.

"Definitely in the last year or two he's stepped up his talk, he's very conscientious about it and he's becoming a full package as a leader."

The Saints have invested heavily in youth, a policy Spriggs said should bode well for the future.

"Guys like Riley, Pat McMahon, Mitchell Greaves, have been there for five or six seasons now, the whole time we've been in cup since we won the plate," Spriggs said.

"They've definitely been the backbone of the team and the way they interact with the young guys and what not - they lead the way."

Injuries and a depleted bench cost the Saints in the final stages after they were run down by Killarney Vale.

Heading into the final term, the scores were locked at 34-34 with the Bombers eventual 6.4-40 to 5.8-38 winners. Tahneisah Walls was named player's-player for the home side.

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