Bathurst Panthers and St Pat's play Group 10 premier league ANZAC derby trophy

It's a familiar setup to last year's derby between unbeaten squads - where Panthers prevailed 20-4 in a defence-orientated clash - but the approach towards the 2019 fixture has been a different beast for both clubs.

Panthers made short work of Blayney Bears in their curtain raiser for the Penrith versus Melbourne Storm NRL game but haven't had a taste of Group 10 regular season action for a month since.

Pat's, on the other hand, have two wins to their name against Orange CYMS and Lithgow Workies but their quality of football has lacked consistency.

Those factors give both teams a reason to feel they have an edge over one another.

When it comes to history in the all-Bathurst April affair its Panthers who have reigned supreme in recent times.

Panthers are on a three-game winning streak after Pat's took out the first two meetings in 2014 and '15.

Panthers captain-coach Doug Hewitt, still on the mend from a knee injury, said making it four-in-a-row would mean the world to his team.

Shaking off the rust will be the tricky part.

"We weren't really happy with the lead up to this. We had the one game then the three week break inbetween doesn't help. If anything it just psyches the boys up a bit more. They're ready to go," he said.

"Last week we had an in-house session and a bit of contact with the reggies boys. We got a few things out of that and picked a couple of things up.

"We touched on our record in this game. It's not the first thing that comes to mind. You don't need much to get you up for this game. It's St Pat's, on ANZAC Day, and it's our biggest game of the year. We love it."

The only game to the Panthers' name is at least a cracker.

They brought down the Bears 44-10 and Hewitt feels like there's still room to improve.

"There's a couple of times where we got away from our sets. We had to work hard at the start of the game but once the points came easy we started to go away from the things that we wanted to do," Hewitt said.

"Against a team like Pat's they will make you pay for that. They've got a great record and key players across the field."

With the trophy going on the line over the past three ANZAC matches it's added another dimension to what's already one of the best games on the Group 10 calendar.

"Even all the old boys are getting around the game now," Hewitt said.

"Before the start of the season you're already looking for what round this is on. It's big already as local derby but then bringing ANZAC Day into it that means a lot to the boys."

St Pat's have begun 2019 in the exact same way as the previous season - with back-to-back wins.

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However, the ANZAC match defeat in 2018 marked a turn for the worse as the Saints went on to win just one of their next eight games.

This year the team makes the trip to Carrington Park determined to turn around their fortunes in the April game, and use victory as a springboard for a big season.

"It's really a four point game for us because we've got the bye the following week. That could really help us skip away from some sides and give us a buffer," player-coach Luke Branighan said.

"It's a privilege to play in this game. It reminds us of what the ANZACs did a hundred years ago. Their sacrifice has given everyone the lifestyle we enjoy today."

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Branighan's aim for Saturday is to match the quality of football his team brought to the opening round clash.

"Panthers are a fantastic side and we're going to have to go up a few gears from our Lithgow performance. We showed some good signs against Orange CYMS," he said.

"We were a little bit off last week. There were other factors in the match that didn't help but Lithgow were a very tough, physical side. To get the win under those circumstances was a positive."

The Bathurst derby kicks-off at 2pm.