St Pat's to clash with Lithgow Workies in round eight of 2022 Peter McDonald Premiership

To be played at the Tony Luchetti Sportsground in cold conditions, St Pat's will be looking to bounce back after a disappointing draw with local rivals Bathurst Panthers 26-all, a match where the blue and whites led by two tries with under fives minutes remaining.

Single, who is now into his third season back at St Pat's after spending a number of years at Western Suburbs Rosellas in Newcastle, is expecting a tough match in round eight action.

"Every time we go up there to Lithgow, we always know it's going to be a tough one. They always embrace this cold weather and they seem to enjoy it," he said.

"You always know it's always going to be a tough game when you go up there, so we'll be in for a tough day. Hopefully we can get away with a win and keep going."

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Single said he's been pleased with his form this season and he's hoping he can still put in a few more solid campaigns in the top grade.

"[My form] hasn't been too bad, I don't think," he said.

"I think it's been good to be back in Bathurst. It's tough but I'm still enjoying it, my body is feeling good for a 30-year-old. Hopefully I'll have a year or two left in me.

It's been a seesawing season for St Pat's so far, having won three and lost three, as well as picking up the aforementioned draw.

Following two games without defeat (a win over Hawks and the draw with Panthers), Single is hoping St Pat's can build some momentum.

"It is a bit up and down. We've had a bit of inconsistency in the halves, with people coming in and out, which doesn't really help," he said.

"I think we're starting to get back on the right track. I think the past few weeks, we've started to play our best footy.

"We might not always be getting the win by we're staying with the top teams like Panthers and Mudgee, which is always good to see we can stay with them."

Single highlighted the team's trend of dropping in and out of games in recent weeks as an area for improvement.

"It's having that 80-minute attitude. We just seem to go into fazes where we drop off for five to 10 minutes," he said.

"You can see in that Panthers game, that's what cost us. If we can start putting together a full 80 minutes and concentrate on not doing silly little errors, we should start winning a few more games."

Almost halfway through the season now, Single said he's enjoyed the new competition, which has brough together Group 10 and Group 11 teams for the first time.

"It's been good. We probably get a few more games where we're not playing the same teams every week," he said.

"The travel isn't always the best, but thankfully we've only had the two Group 11 games [against Parkes and Dubbo CYMS] and I think we might have one more against Wellington, and that's here in Bathurst."

Kick-off in Lithgow is at 2.30pm.

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