The Maitland Pickers Rugby League Football Club is an Australian rugby league football club based in Maitland, New South Wales formed in 1955.
During the 1940s, Newcastle Rugby League experienced a drastic change when the league was reduced from 10 to 8 teams after Morpeth-East Maitland made a departure at the start of the 1942 season and Eastern Suburbs folding before the semi-finals.
The dominance began in the 1950s when Australian Representative, Don Adams led Maitland played in seven consecutive grand finals, winning three premierships in a row from 1956 to 1958.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Pickers continued to dominate, having made it to the grand final five consecutive years (three titles and two runners-ups).
[4] The term "Pumpkin Pickers" was a sarcastic reference to the players bringing goods to the markets to sell when they went to games by train.