It's been that long since Kevin Grimshaw coached a St Pat's under 18s team to victory in a Group 10 grand final, so perhaps he's due for more success.

He certainly has a team capable of doing so when they face cross-city rivals Panthers at Carrington Park this Sunday.

His group of minor premiers enjoyed a stellar run through the regular season but encountered an obstacle in the major semi-final against the Panthers.

Co-coach Grimshaw, along with Dane Fisher, got the Saints juniors to regroup in a more encouraging preliminary final performance against the Blayney Bears.

But will more of the same be enough against the Panthers, especially one buoyed by a game on their home turf?

One thing's certain: You're getting a top quality match featuring a host of Western Rams Country Championship talent slugging it out in a derby to savour.

"I personally think this game should be played before first grade. You've got young blokes in here who are going to be going further in their careers and the crowd will really want to catch this one," Grimshaw said.

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"It's going to be exciting. You've got 40 kids out there living their dream. Everyone wants to play in a grand final and it's a big opportunity to both sides."

It's been hard to split Pat's and Panthers throughout the season.

They split their games across the regular season, each team winning at home, before the Panthers put the Saints away 24-14 with a strong second half of football.

Pat's earned their passage into the grand final courtesy of a win over the Blayney Bears last Sunday.

The most impressive aspect of the Saints' year is that the majority of their side still have a another season of under 18s football to come.

For such a young squad Pat's have shown experience beyond their years, and that hasn't gone unappreciated by their mentors.

"I'd say I'd have around 15 or so 16-year-olds in this team. Most are still only kids. They've played grand finals in juniors but it's very different when they get to this age," Grimshaw said.

"All the Panthers forward pack moves on next year and all but one of mine stay. I think we do go in as underdogs, because they've beaten us twice, but my young boys are definitely full of enthusiasm."

Matching it with the Panthers pack will go a long way towards getting revenge for the major semi-final defeat.

The other aspect Pat's will be focusing on is starting each half with more intensity and hunger.

It was a telling factor in the previous loss but the preliminary final against Blayney was a more encouraging showing.

"We took a lot out of the game against Panthers and transferred that into our game against Blayney and that was really good to see," he said.

"If we can hold our own in the middle it will help a lot. A lot of these games are won in the middle of the ruck so it's about being dominant in there and getting the quick play-the-ball.

"Of our older guys I think there's only one who has played in a grand final. Those players have got a great opportunity here to go out of under 18s as premiership winners."

Kick-off in the final Bathurst derby of the season will be 11.45am.