SINCE Derryn Clayton graduated from the ranks of St Pat's juniors into senior league he's been given a diverse range of roles, but what hasn't changed is his love of a win over Bathurst Panthers.
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This year marks a decade since Clayton and a bunch of under 18 Saints sprung a huge grand final day upset against Bathurst Panthers.
The Saints had come from fourth on the ladder at the end of the regular season to upset Panthers 20-10.
"I remember bits and pieces of it, a lot has happened in 10 years. I do remember scoring in that grand final and Jakey Bright, he got a double that game," Clayton, who is now 28, said.
"I'd been given a job by Kevy Grimshaw to sort of take care of Blake Lawson, he was their strike weapon at the time. My job was to shut him down and keep him quiet - I must've done alright because we won," he laughed.
"I remember us having a bit of an overlap on that right-hand side, we had a bit of a long shift, it came to me and I pinned the ears back and went straight into the corner for a try.
"Ten years is a long time, I've been around the traps since then, but it's good to still be fit and be able to play."
Clayton was playing at lock that year and since then he's filled almost every different position for the Saints.
It can be a challenge, but he says he is "more than happy to do a job."
"I played fullback my first year in first grade, I was at fullback and wing for them. Then I got shuffled into the back row and front row and now I'm playing on the wing again," he said.
"It's been a bit all over the shop but when they need someone to fill in and they just say 'He'll do the job anywhere'."
This Saturday Clayton will line up on the wing when the Saints host Bathurst Panthers.
Though the game is now part of the inaugural Peter McDonald Premiership season rather than Group 10, for Clayton that changes nothing.
He wants to beat Panthers and prove that he and his Saints are the strongest team in Bathurst.
It's a mantle that undoubtedly has belonged to Panthers in recent years, but as Clayton points out, of late there has been a shift.
"That rivalry, it's definitely one you look forward to, especially now being older and that they've brought the ANZAC one in between us and Panthers - that's right up there with a grand final," he said.
"You've got bragging rights in town on the line, you're playing against your mates. We did beat them our last game in the ANZAC game, we hadn't beaten them in that one since 2015.
"They've sort of been the pinnacle of the comp for the last three years, but from them beating us in the first round last year, then having a draw against them, then winning against them and having another win in our first game this season, it really shows the hard yards and rebuild that Pat's are putting together."
Panthers head into Saturday's match on the back of commanding wins over Orange Hawks and Cowra, Jake Betts' men having scored 110 points in the past fortnight.
But Clayton feels the Saints have been improving too. After last Sunday's win over Hawks his side sits sixth on the ladder.
"You expect nothing but an arm-wrestle, it always is against Panthers, but if you can get out there and weather the storm and get into that real grind footy, that hard footy with them, we can really shift the momentum our way," he said.
"We've got a lot of footy in us and a lot of good players in the team. We're just sort of building on not trying to single players out and having one strike weapon, we're trying to use our strike all over the park.
"It's working for us, we're starting to gel as a team which is allowing us to put points together.
"But the biggest thing Zac wants us to focus on this year is our defence and what Zac has noticed, and a lot of the boys too, is that we've gone from conceding 20-30 points a game to keeping Mudgee and Hawks to below 12.
"So we've put in some good work to our defence and we're starting to get our shape in attack, and if we get our shape there's not a lot of teams who are going to be able to defend that good shape."
The Peter McDonald Premiership match, which is set to kick off at 4.10pm, is part of a bumper derby day at Jack Arrow Oval.
The action begins with an under 11s clash between Pat's and Panthers at 9.30am, with opens league tag, under 12s, under 16s, reserve grade and under 18s to follow.
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