A BATHURST derby has arrived early for St Pat’s this year as they prepare to show what they’ve got against the men in black.
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St Pat’s will face Bathurst Panthers in the opening round of the Group 10 Knockout at Carrington Park on Friday night, determined to cause an upset against the pre-season tournament’s defending champions.
Saints co-coach Kurt Hancock is interested to see what the highly touted Panthers squad will bring to the table at the knockout.
“I know the boys are looking forward to playing the Panthers. It will be great to see what they have to offer,” he said.
“I think it’s great to get Panthers first up because it’s going to be good to see where we’re at. But as much as we’re excited to play against Panthers we need to keep focused on ourselves and getting the right values in place.
“There’s a few things for us to sort out in defence. We’ve got some new players at the club and they need to know what my expectations are in defence.”
Many of the Saints men enjoyed valuable match time last weekend.
Pat’s went down to Group 11 premiers Forbes Magpies in the Brendon ‘Stubby’ Collits Memorial game on Saturday at Ashwood Park, in what was a good pre-season test for the blue and white.
Hancock said the tough clash has given his side plenty to focus on in the lead up to the knockout.
“Forbes brought 18 of their best players over so we had a chance to look at our younger players. We’re going to have a different squad from that game, but there was good signs for our depth,” he said.
“That game could have gotten away from us but our guys did well to stay in it. We’ll look to build on that against Panthers.
“Nathan Lawrence played one of the best matches I’ve seen him have over the past 12 months in the game against Forbes. Kurt Norton had a great game too, and is getting himself to the level we hoped to see coming out of under 18s.
“Greg Behan was great for us on the weekend. He led well from the front and his experience was something great for our younger guys to see.”
St Pat’s were denied a second round spot last year by Orange CYMS in a 10-6 defeat.
Pat’s will welcome back Shannon Peters into their side after his appearance in the victorious Group 10 Indigenous All Stars lineup last weekend.
Garry Reilly, recovering from a knee injury, may be an inclusion in the Pat’s squad should he pass a fitness test.
The all-Bathurst affair is Friday night’s last clash, at 9pm.
