Hunter coach Jamie Lind believes there 'needs to be an inquiry' if his NSW Country champions do not feature strongly in the Cockatoos squad for 2026, after breaking an almost decade-long title drought to win the Caldwell Cup in Tamworth on Sunday.
Hunter last claimed the coveted rugby union silverware in 2017, but dominated final proceedings to defeat Central West 39-17 at the annual representative tournament. 'It's a bloody good team,' Lind told the Newcastle Herald after full-time. 'To give you an indication of the strength in our squad, we had five Country players from last year on the bench for us.'
It has been quite a spell between celebration drinks for Hunter, who were once perennial winners of the men's NSW Country Championships title. 'A couple of years ago I think we might have even came last,' Lind said. 'Right now, Newcastle is like the best supermarket for rugby players. So we've got all the best ingredients, we've just put the right recipe together with the right blokes.'
In terms of Hunter's performance in the showdown, backing up earlier triumphs over both the President's XV (61-7) and Central Coast on Saturday, Lind described it as 'completely dominant'. 'Pretty tight the first 25 minutes or so and then we just accelerated through the game. The last few minutes it was all over and party time. Absolutely outstanding.'
Lind praised the efforts of Rhys Bray, Sam Tufuga and Corey Davis while also saying 'every player played a part, a huge part.' The result was reversed between the same teams in the women's NSW Country Championships final, Central West defeating Hunter 17-0 in Sunday's final at Tamworth.
