THEY'RE the five-time defending champions for a good reason.
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In one of the most glaring examples of 'youth versus experience' the St Pat's league tag squad's dominance brought out the mercy rule in the opening game of their Western League Tag season.
St Pat's ran in their 11th try of the derby against Panthers at Carrington Park inside the last minute of the match to take the score out to 60-0 and bring out an early full-time whistle.
Leading the way for the Saints was Bronte Emanuel, who scored four times.
It was a tough introduction for a young Panthers team into a new season, and they'll be certain to take a lot away from the game, while for Pat's it shows they haven't taken a step backwards from where they've been in recent years.
Saints attack once again at its best
Samantha Hanrahan made the most of her promotion into the starting fullback role this year, with a season ending injury to Erin Naden, by scoring an intercept try.
Darcie and Carly Morrison, captain Mish Somers and Meredith Jones - who scored 29 tries in the Saints' 2023 campaign - also got on the score sheet.
But the day belonged to player's player winner Emanuel, who said the experience in the Pat's squad goes a long way.
"We do have a core that's stuck together for years and we also have a few new players who have joined the team," she said.
"The last few weeks we've worked on those new combinations and learned how everyone plays. We went in without a trial game this year so it was nice to get out and have a run around."
The Saints won't want the score line of the opening round to give them any sense of complacency.
"There's always areas you can improve upon," Emanuel said.
"We spoke at half-time about being more urgent off the line. We let Panthers come to us too many times. When we play some of the stronger sides they're going to kill us if we do that."
Emanuel expects a tough field of competitors to try and bring down her side this year.
"I'd expect Orange CYMS to be strong. They've been up there the last few years," she said.
"There's the likes of Dubbo CYMS, Macquarie, and Mudgee should have a decent side this year.
"We can never afford to take any game lightly though."