Premier League Hockey: St Pat's men book grand final meeting with Lithgow Storm

However, for the St Pat's men's Premier League Hockey team that week-long period has been reduced to a single day.

The Saints were convincing 6-0 victors over Parkes United in Thursday night's rescheduled preliminary final clash at Orange, but there's little time to celebrate as Pat's prepare to now take on Lithgow Storm in Saturday's decider.

Pat's coach Richard Sharp has not been one to hide his disdain for the decision of Premier League Hockey to retain the grand final on its original date this Saturday.

The competition was briefly thrown into chaos due to the recent one-week Orange-Blayney-Cabonne lockdown, which pushed the men's and women's preliminary finals into a mid-week timeslot.

Sharp said all his team can do is battle through and keep their eyes on the prize.

"Unfortunately we seem to have been the team who have suffered the most in this whole scenario," Sharp said.

"Each team had the ability to put forward their case for what the best option would be moving forward and unfortunately we had to travel on Thursday when it was supposed to be our home game, and we now have this short turnaround just to ensure the competition finishes on the scheduled date.

"That's ludicrous from my point of view, and to extend [the competition] another week wouldn't have affected anybody in any great way.

"I'm fearful that with the short turnaround players can suffer a significant injury. Player welfare should always be a primary concern. We'll give it a red hot crack but there will be an element of fatigue that affects our performance."

In challenging conditions on Thursday night the Saints were far too strong for Parkes on neutral turf, although the United men weren't without their chances.

Pat's were on top of their game when it came to converting their chances, which ultimately proved the difference.

Lachlan Howard scored a hat-trick in the win while Jaden Ekert bagged a brace. Tyler Willott hit home the remaining goal.

Sharp said the conditions made the going tough but his men found a way to still play the style of hockey that they wanted, at a solid tempo.

"Unfortunately the conditions on Thursday night were less than adequate, with severe frost on the turf, which made it slippery and difficult for the guys to maintain footing and maintain the ball. Fortunately it didn't lead to any injuries," he said.

"It was a great game and a competitive one, even if the scoreline might not indicate that. We took our chances and played quite well. Even in the conditions it was a fast paced game, and I'm happy with where our guys are at the moment in terms of style, structure and effort.

"It's just a matter now of resting them up and getting them mentally and physically fit for this last game."

Pat's will go into the grand final as underdogs given that they've claimed just one win from their five encounters against the Storm this season.

In their major semi-final clash the Storm prevailed 7-5 winners in an entertaining clash.

Pat's do boast a 4-2 win over the Storm this season.

Sharp believes the brand of hockey shown on Thursday night will go a long way towards winning the big one, but the team needs to recuperate in order to make that happen.

"We're not professionals so the boys have to go to work and school. We can't do anything on Friday evening so all I can ask is that they put their feet up and get a good night's rest," he said.

"We have an opportunity to at least get together on the morning of the game and do some preparation."

That prep will be vital against a Storm side who have often had the measure of the blue and whites this year.

And with the Lithgow men having hosting rights for the decider it adds another element of difficulty to the grand final.

"In my point of view, and certainly the team's point of view, we won't be using fatigue as an excuse if things don't go our way," Sharp said.

"We've got a strong mindset that we can give our best performance and best account of ourselves while leaving nothing out on the pitch.

"The biggest motivator is that if we win we can turn around to everybody and say 'You made that tough on us, but we still came through with the goods'."

The grand final gets underway from 1.30pm in Lithgow.

Saints were hoping to make it a double premiership but their women's side were knocked out by CYMS, who have gone on to book a date with Lithgow Panthers in their grand final.

That game starts midday.

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