Mick Wicks scored winning try for Bathurst Panthers in Group 10 reserve grade minor semi-final

Panthers overcame home side Mudgee Dragons 26-22 in an upset minor semi-final win to book a meeting against cross-city rivals St Pat's.

It's been a magic run through the finals so far for the Panthers, who finished fourth on the ladder, and they now have an opportunity to join their premier league and under 18s counterparts on home turf for the grand final.

Michael Wicks was the hero of the day for the Panthers when he broke the 22-all deadlock inside the final minute of the match.

Wicks had spent the past three months off the field with a serious finger injury but he made his comeback game one to remember.

Dragons had scored back-to-back converted tries to put the squeeze on the visitors but Wicks' close range effort got the Panthers home.

"We should have put the game to bed much earlier than that. We were up 22-10 and we let in a couple of soft tries," Wicks said.

"We got back down their end of the field. They had no markers so I got in at dummy half and got over from there."

Keep up to date with the latest sports news by clicking here.

Wicks said the presence of premier league and 18s on grand final day adds more incentive for the reserve grade squad to join them.

"We dropped a couple of games we should have won and we probably should have finished in that top three. We've got a lot of faith in the team we have. It's a younger side with plenty of ability," he said.

"Obviously Pat's will be pretty hard this weekend. It always is in a derby.

"There's a great feeling around the club with those other teams already being in grand finals so it's up to us to try and join them there on the day."

The winner of the Pat's-Panthers clash will face Lithgow Workies in the grand final.