Three St Pat's teams to play in Group 10 Junior Rugby League finals

St Pat’s Junior Rugby League president Tony England is hoping the answer to that question is yes come Saturday at Blayney when the under 12s side he coaches squares off with Mudgee Gold.

The under 12 Saints will tackle undefeated minor premiers Mudgee Gold as part of a big day of Group 10 Junior Rugby League finals, their clash set to decide the first team into the grand final.

The under 16 and under 14 St Pat’s teams will also be in action at Blayney and no matter the outcome, England is delighted to see the club’s juniors having made it this far.

“I'm extremely proud to have three teams in the finals, very much so, it's a great result for the club,” he said.

“It's very competitive from under 10s when they first come into the competition right up to under 16s, the kids all love their sport, but they really want to win too.

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“We are really proud of all of our teams and think they are a chance of reaching their grand finals.”

England’s under 12s earned a shot at the first grand final qualifier thanks to an 18-4 win over Bloomfield last weekend. That victory not only extended an impressive run of form, but ended a period of dominance the Orange team had enjoyed against the Saints.

“My under 12s hadn't beaten them in two years and they did it in the final - it was fantastic,” England said.

"They've had a fantastic year, they ended up third on the table and last week they made it seven wins in a row without a loss. There has been a draw in that time, but to go seven weeks without a loss in under 12s is fantastic.”

Still, the under 12 Saints will need to draw on all their confidence and talent this Saturday to extend that undefeated run when they meet Mudgee Gold.

The Mudgee side has been dominant not just this season, but as the playing group has progressed through the age divisions.

“They’ve won the grand final three years in a row and haven’t been beaten at all in the last three years, but we did draw [12-all] with them two weeks ago, so we’re hot on their tails so to speak,” England said.

“They were very gracious about it when we drew, but they certainly weren’t expecting it either. They are an extraordinary side, they’ve scored about 300 points for and have less than 100 against.

“They all grew about six feet that day, it gave them a lot of confidence.”

Like the under 12s, the under 16 St Pat’s side will line up for a major semi-final on Saturday.

The 16 Saints finished the regular home and away season as minor premiers, losing just one of its 12 games, to sit one more victory away from a grand final.

Standing in the way of the blue and whites achieving that at Blayney is Bloomfield – the only side to have beaten St Pat’s this season.

Bloomfield won the most recent meeting between the two 22-20, while the Saints edged them out 12-10 earlier in the season. Those results point to a gripping major semi-final.

The under 14s will line up in a minor semi-final against Bloomfield. A loss will spell the end of their title push, but in beating Orange CYMS 14-10 last weekend, the Saints showed they have plenty of determination.

"They are a team that knows how to lead, but they can also come from behind. They beat CYMS 14-10 last week and they came from behind to win that,” England said.

The 12s semi-final kicks off at 10.50am, the 14s game at 12.45pm and 16s at 3pm.

ST PAT’S: 1 Hunter Cutting, 2 Zane Pringle, 3 Sam Clarke ©, 4 Stuart Halsey, 5 Hayden Selman, 6 Bryce Fisher, 7 Lochlan Randall, 8 Jayden Ward, 9 Logan England, 10 Lachlan Booth, 11 Jay Davis, 12 Jack Branda, 13 Antony Allan, 14 George Kentwell, 15 Cooper Martin, 16 Jacob Hill, 17 Volkan Gunduz, 18 Dayne Fallon, 19 Hayden Hodges, 20 Boyd Corby, 21 Liam Martin.

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