DEFY the odds.
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That’s what St Pat’s have to do this Saturday when they meet Group 10 premier league leaders Orange Hawks at Wade Park.
Pat’s are running short on opportunities to make this year’s finals series and they haven’t exactly come across the ideal opponent to play.
Hawks are enjoying one of their best seasons of football since their 2013 grand final season, leading Cowra Magpies by a point in the race for the minor premiership.
Meanwhile Pat’s are three points away from fifth-placed Orange CYMS and watching finals hopes slip away.
Frustratingly for the Saints they’ve shown glimpses of fantastic football lately but haven’t pieced together a complete 80-minute game in that time.
Because of that they’ve claimed just one win from their past eight matches.
In last week’s Bathurst derby against Panthers the Saints produced some electrifying line breaks through the middle of the park and asked questions of the home defence.
Pat’s hooker Hudson White is hopeful his side can ask those questions over prolonged periods, not just in small bursts.
“We’re just lacking a bit of depth at the moment. Injuries and blokes walking out on us has hit home a bit. It can be hard to get 13 blokes to play the full 80 minutes,” he said.
“We’re playing good in patches but we’re not playing out the full game.
“The problem is that we start to build pressure but then we take the foot off the pedal. Being good only in patches is what’s killing us.”
Pat’s came close to knocking over Hawks this season in a 20-16 result early in May.
If the Saints want to match it with the competition leaders again then their strong defence – which was one of the more fearsome walls of players earlier in the season – needs to be rediscovered.
“We have to win pretty much every game from here on in if we’re any chance to make finals,” White said.
“We’ll have to throw everything we’ve got at them and see what we come up with. I think we’re certainly capable of beating them, it’s about whether we can show up for 80 minutes.”
Match starts 2.30pm.