THEIR women's Premier League Hockey title defence hinges on 60 minutes of intensity, well executed skills and the drive to succeed, but it is that sort of pressure, that sort of challenge St Pat's coach Jaden Ekert thinks will inspire his players.
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After going down 3-1 to Orange CYMS in the major semi-final, this Saturday the Saints face sudden death when hosting Lithgow Panthers in the preliminary final at Bob Roach Field.
But 12 months ago when in the same situation, the Saints won in extra-time. Seven days later they went on to be crowned premiers.
It is that sort of ability to recover from disappointment and rising to a challenge which gives Ekert confidence his Saints can qualify for another grand final.
"Last weekend is last weekend, we move forward, we refocus and fix the issues that need to be fixed. We've got to get back up off the canvas and perform better on Saturday," he said.
"We love doing it the hard way, it's just how we do things.
"They love backs against the wall, they love it. I think someone like a Lucy Weal, a Kristy [Ekert], an Amy Glenn and a Carly [Hagney], they thrive on it.
"At the end of the day I look for those senior girls to step up and lead and lead from in front and I'm sure Saturday will be no exception. They're experienced, they know what it takes to win and how to win and that in finals it's not about how pretty it is, it's just about getting the job done.
"They know how to grind out a win and stay in the fight and Panthers on Saturday is going to be exactly that."
While the Saints are the defending champions and won their most recent match against the Panthers 2-1, the Lithgow outfit has played in the last seven consecutive grand finals.
To deny Panthers another shot at the title, Ekert said his Saints must follow the example set by CYMS. They must make sure they execute perfectly across the entire 60 minutes.
"It's going to be end-to-end, it's going to possibly be golden goal, it's going to be muscle up in defence and all those type of things that create a nitty, gritty game. Panthers have got some really valuable girls that know how to do that as well," he said.
"You talk to anyone and it's Panthers-Pat's, CYMS didn't come into the chat but they're into the grand final because they do the little things really well. Saturday, if we don't do the little things really well, we're probably not going to be there next weekend.
"It's all about doing the ole cliché, the one percenters, the extra running, the extra bits here and there and CYMS have done that really well over the whole season, whereas both us and Panthers have been patchy.
"You've still got to understand what the opposition is doing and I've put a lot of emphasis on how they play this week with our training sessions. Now when it's do or die, make or break, you have to know what Panthers can do ... you have to have some idea of what they're able to do if you're going to stop it.
"We've got four or five really good attacking weapons that they've got to try and stop and they've got the exact same. It's going to be one of those games that's awesome to watch, awesome to be involved with."
Saturday's preliminary final at Bob Roach Field starts at 1.50pm.
