After an upset defeat at the hands of Oberon last weekend, second-placed St Pat’s are looking to steady their ship and maintain their spot in the battle for a minor premiership.

Four spots down the ladder are Panthers, who are still treading the finals tightrope after defeating Mudgee and Orange CYMS in their past two matches.

A defeat to the Saints will end their chances.

The two sides met in round three, where Pat’s held on for a two-point win in an exciting affair. From that moment, their seasons went down vastly different roads.

Panthers’ recent resurgence means that suddenly there is life in this match once more and past years give ample evidence that even when one team is flying and the other is battling, no derby result is a given.

“We’ve played some pretty handy footy in the last three weeks or so and we’d love to continue that,” Panthers coach John Fearnley said.

“The game against CYMS and against Mudgee are two of the best performances we’ve given in two or three years and the players are believing now that they’re capable of doing that more consistently.

“Our young guys are standing up. Blake Lawson was outstanding last week and has been among the top players all year. 

“He looks dangerous every time he gets the ball.

“But St Pat’s are a gritty side, the sort of team that no matter how well you are playing against them, they will find a way to keep themselves in the contest and hang in there.”

Panthers received some positive news this week with hooker Luke Carpenter suddenly an outside chance of playing again this season after a knee dislocation last Sunday looked to have ended his 2014.

Second rower Mick Ingwer-sen is a 50-50 prospect for tomorrow’s match after popp-ing his shoulder against CYMS.

Pat’s, meanwhile, have to hit back from their heartstopping one-point loss to Oberon, with the blue and whites missing a chance to snatch a win as Garry Reilly attempted a sideline conversion on the siren.

“Those games against Oberon and Lithgow that we’ve dropped, we have tended to go into them and play just as well as we have to in order to get the win, nothing more, and it has cost us,” coach Kurt Hancock said.

“Hawks and Panthers at the moment are the two teams who are rolling, CYMS and Cowra and ourselves have been quite inconsistent of late and Mudgee have been very out of sorts.

“It is a funny time of the year and at this stage of the season it becomes a bit of a mental test to make sure you’re reaching your best footy when the finals start.”

Pat’s will be without some of their first choice stars this weekend, including playmaker Antonio Ale, but one thing the Saints are not short on is depth and Hancock will call on some of it to cover any gaps.

He says that a good start will be important, and nullifying Panthers’ ability to score from kicks – mainly from the boot of Matt Rose – will be crucial.

“In the first game against them this year they came home strongly and you could see that they had a bit to offer,” he said.

“They were outstanding in the middle against CYMS. Their props [Brent Seager and Osea Sadrau] as well as Blake Lawson and Matt and Trent Rose, they were all impressive.

“They are probably the best side in the competition at scoring from kicks, so we will tinker with a few things to try and cover that.”

Panthers and St Pat’s meet at Carrington Park from 2.30pm tomorrow.

ST PAT’S: 1 Ben Hews, 2 John Hanscomb, 3 Mick Armstrong, 4 Jake Bright, 5 Dave Howard, 6 Cameron Neville, 7 Garry Reilly, 8 Paletime Ale, 9 Benjamin John, 10 Luke Single, 11 Cyp Ale, 12 Jacob Bell, 13 Brent Dennis, 14 Campbell Scott, 15 Ben Thompson, 16 Derryn Clayton

BATHURST PANTHERS: 1 Cody Robbins, 2 Mitch Davis, 3 Blake Lawson, 4 William Kennedy, 5 Chris Shephard, 6 Matt Rose, 7 Blake Dean, 8 Brent Seager (c), 9 Joey Bugg, 10 Osea Sadrau, 11 Trent Rose, 12 Blake Seager, 13 Jake Betts