LITHGOW Panthers will be on home turf come this Saturday's women's Premier League Hockey grand final, but that doesn't trouble St Pat's one bit - in fact the Saints love a road trip.
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Though facing the Panthers on their home turf is a prospect many premier league outfits find daunting, Saints coach Ben Weal feels it is not as big as an advantage as it appears.
He thinks the Lithgow turf suits the style of hockey his side likes to play and also points to the Saints' impressive record when playing away from home this season.
"Our away record this year has been good, we've scored 12 away goals and have none against. Travelling this year has not been an issue for us," Weal said.
"So I'm happy to be playing there, I think it's probably the best surface in the league, the ball moves fast, it's true. So that surface will suit us more than the Orange surface, you can go there with the confidence that it's going to be a fast game and conducive to a good skill level."
They are not the only reasons Weal feels playing the decider in Lithgow won't intimidate his squad.
The restrictions in place due to COVID-19 means that there will not be a mass of Panthers supporters cheering on the home side, while the Saints have also won matches at Lithgow in the past.
"No spectators, it sort of neutralises it a bit because you won't have that hostile environment you sometimes have in Lithgow, the home ground advantage is gone somewhat because of that," he said.
"It will be a tough game going down there, but we've had some really good results down there in finals, which is a positive.
"The last time we won a grand final was beating Panthers in Lithgow and the previous time we played Panthers in Lithgow in a grand final we won as well."
The Saints will be aiming for their eight women's crown on Saturday, having previously won four consecutive titles between 2003-06, picking up another in 2009, plus finding success in 2013 and 2018.
As Weal pointed out that 2018 win came at Lithgow against the Panthers and seven members of that side who won 5-2 - Maddy Boyce, Amy Glenn, Lucy Weal, Mish Somers, Jodi Webb, Paityn Simpson and Lilli-Rai Campbell - will line up again this Saturday.
Campbell has been in brilliant form in goals this season and was particularly impressive in the 2-0 preliminary final win over Confederates. It was her fifth clean sheet of the season and Weal sees her as being a key figure in the decider.
"She made not only absolutely amazing first saves last weekend, but second, third and fourth saves," Weal said.
"Really to go all the way you need to have a really good goalkeeper and we are very fortunate to have that."
The decider starts at 1.30pm.
