Sid Kallas Oval might be Cowra’s fortress but the Bathurst club hasn’t been beaten there since its 2014 grand final triumph over the Magpies.

Pat’s also have another reason to feel confident about a trip to Cowra.

One of the men who was instrumental in helping Pat’s claim that grand final win, Benjamin John, is back in the Saints squad.

“Hopefully with him back it will give Cowra nightmares from 2014,” Pat’s coach Kurt Hancock said, referencing the hooker’s hat trick in the decider.

“He’ll be playing in 14 and we’ll use him accordingly. He’s been back at training for the last few weeks and doing well.”

Pat’s are on the board in this year’s campaign following a win against the Oberon Tigers.

They take on a Magpies team also fresh off a successful game, against Lithgow Workies. The win has taken Magpies inside the top five.

Hancock has a lot of respect for a Magpies team stacked with play makers.

“There’s Cameron Picker at fullback, Rick Nobes at number nine and Cameron Bruest at halfback. They’ve got a great spine and group of forwards who work hard,” he said.

“They’ve been playing really well over the last two to three weeks and they look like they’re playing with a lot of confidence.

“Normally when we go over there we put in a bad performance over the first half. Our last game there we were down 22-00 then came back to win 44-22.

“We have got to get our start right this weekend but so far this year have been really good. We got out to 10-0 against the Panthers and were well up against Oberon at half-time.”

A handful of Pat’s players were facing injury concerns coming out of the Oberon game.

The majority have recovered and are set to start this Saturday, with the exception of Daniel Bain who tore his ACL.

Mitch Squire enjoyed a strong game at fullback for Pat’s last round but will be absent from the blue and white this week due to Western Rams duty. Shannon Peters takes his place.

The remainder of the starting side is unchanged.

St Pat’s and Cowra will cap off a huge day of football at Sid Kallas Oval, with premier league kick-off expected to take place around 3.30pm.