ST Pat’s will face off against some familiar faces when they aim to keep their unbeaten start to the Group 10 premier league going this Sunday.
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A second away match in as many weeks sees the Saints facing the Blayney Bears at King George Oval.
Pat’s will be encountering former teammates Brady Cheshire and Nathan Lawrence in the match.
Cheshire, Lawrence and the Bears will be hungry to get on the board following their 58-22 loss to the Mudgee Dragons last round.
Saints meanwhile are fresh off a 42-14 win over the Lithgow Workies to start their season.
Pat’s player-coach Greg Behan said earning back-to-back wins will be a tough ask.
“I think Blayney are a very good side and from what I’ve been told they were right in that game until the 60th minute. Then they had a lack of depth on their interchange, and that would hurt any side,” he said.
“I think they’ll be very strong through the middle with Deryne McKenzie and Brady Cheshire, they’ll lead them well.
“They’ll play hard against us, especially being Brady’s old club, and they’ve got class all over the park so I’m expecting this to be a good one.”
Pat’s have won three of the past four encounters with the Bears but the Blayney squad has gone through a lot of changes over the off-season.
Along with their acquisition of the former Pat’s men Blayney also have the experienced Tim Mortimer captain-coaching the team and former Orange Emus man Mitch Evers at halfback.
With their new lineup the Bears look certain to make giant inroads when compared to last year’s winless season.
Behan said the success over Lithgow is a good benchmark to work with heading into the clash against the new-look Bears.
“We’re looking to improve on our defence and discipline,” Behan said.
“It was a good win in Lithgow, no doubt about that, but we’ve got to keep our heads and play like that week in and week out. Consistency in our composure is what we want.”
Saints’ discipline was the biggest concern out of the Workies game, but the Bathurst men learned from their mistakes to run away with the match in the second half.
An encouraging sign for St Pat’s was seeing both their new signings and young players making big plays.
Michael Latu bagged a brace while new lock Zac Merritt and fullback Sam Dwyer were instrumental in their blue and white’s success.
Pat’s will make just the single change to their round one-winning team, with Nick Millar rejoining the starting side in the second row.
The premier league fixture is set to start at the earlier time of 1.40pm.
The day’s play at King George Oval will start with league tag at 10am.