It's why Saints coach Ben Weal is eagerly anticipating Saturday's local derby.

The last time the Bathurst sides met was on June 15, 2019, with the Saints having Souths' measure in a 5-0 victory.

They were meant to meet again that year on August 10, but snow across the Central West saw Premier League Hockey officials make the call to cancel the round.

Last year given COVID-19 delayed the start of the competition, teams were drawn to meet just once. The Saints and Souths were eager to play their penultimate round clash on August 22, but snow in the region once more saw officials cancel the entire round.

"We haven't played them in a long time, it's been like a couple of years since we've played a full, proper, Premier League game, so I'm looking forward to that," Weal said.

"Souths-Pat's is really a long time rivalry in hockey, so there's usually quite a bit of feeling there when you play against them.

"They're two of the oldest remaining clubs in Bathurst, so there's obviously a lot of history there.

"We did play them in the [pre-season] gala day and we lost, but we were quite depleted, we had like seven players out, so you can't read too much into that."

From the Saints squad which made the 2020 grand final against Lithgow Panthers, Ella Davis has departed to attend university while Esther Hotham has stepped away from hockey.

But Lily Kable, who captained the NSW State side to gold at the Under 15 Australian Championships this week, has joined the Saints' ranks and the experienced Lucy Weal has been convinced to play on.

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"Lucy was retiring but we had to talk her around to playing one more, the coach probably had a bit to do with that," Weal chuckled.

"She'll probably play less of a role this year than what she has done, but she'll be there when we need her which is good.

"Lily Kable, I'm pretty excited about having her in the side this year. She's played Pat's juniors for a few years ... last year towards the end of the season she came to train with the Premier League girls for four or five sessions to get to know everyone."

While Souths began their season last Saturday with a 2-1 loss against Orange United, Pat's match against Bathurst City was deferred.

"They've obviously had a hit out which is a bit of an advantage and this is our first, but let's just see what happens. I'd expect us to be a little bit rusty obviously for the first quarter or so, but hopefully we find our groove pretty early and can do the job," Weal said.

Saturday's derby at Bob Roach Field starts 1.50pm.

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