Home sides had their parties spoiled by visiting sides in the third-versus-fourth contests while Group 11 have the early bragging rights over their Group 10 rivals after getting to the preliminary finals first.

Wet weather didn't deter fans from turning up in droves to catch the first ever PMP finals weekend, and the tough conditions made for some brutal contests through the middle of the park.

There's plenty of talking points from Saturday and Sunday's action so let's get stuck into it...

TALK about things not going to script.

Three out of the four Peter McDonald Premiership semi-finals played over the weekend were taken out by the team who finished lower on the ladder than their opponents, letting everyone know that anything's possible in this inaugural finals series.

Both visiting sides took out the elimination semi-finals, with Parkes Spacemen getting the job done against St Pat's 12-11 and the Bathurst Panthers beating Dubbo Macquarie Raiders 34-26, while Forbes Magpies put themselves one win away from the grand final after besting Group 10 premiers Mudgee Dragons 34-28.

Dubbo CYMS, who won 36-14 over Orange CYMS, were the only higher ranked squad to win in week one of finals.

It's a small victory for Group 11 in the regional rivalry, as Forbes and Dubbo CYMS have locked in the first two places in the preliminary finals.

Those results have set up a pair of seriously spicy week two games.

Panthers and Dragons have stoked up a fierce rivalry in recent seasons, thanks mostly to their heat Group 10 grand final meeting in 2019, while Orange CYMS and Parkes met just a few weeks ago in a brilliant 32-20 game that went the way of the Orange side.

The winner of Orange CYMS and Spacemen will face the Magpies while Dubbo CYMS will await whoever wins the Panthers vs Dragons clash.

FROM round 18, 2017, to the 2022 major semi-final - it's a long time to hold undefeated status in Group 10 league tag and while St Pat's streak has finally ended, let's take a moment to acknowledge how good it was.

Yes, there was no season 2020 included in that run as COVID-19 forced its abandonment.

Yes, the Saints did taste defeat in pre-season tournaments and the post-season Western Premiers Challenge during that time period.

But for a side to win 59 consecutive games over a six-year period in the same Group 10 competition is remarkable.

It included undefeated premierships in 2018 and 2019, while Saints players have bagged a string of best and fairest and leading point-scorer awards during their streak too.

The run began after the Saints suffered an 18-14 loss to Orange Hawks in season 2017.

The blue and whites finished the regular season in third but beat Bathurst Panthers and Orange Hawks to qualify for the grand final, then toppled Hawks once more in the decider.

That season Orange Hawks had Erin Naden in its ranks, but she has since made the fullback spot at St Pat's her own.

Naden was missing on Sunday when Orange CYMS ended the Saints' Group 10 winning streak, posting a 16-6 victory in the major semi-final.

This Sunday when St Pat's face Orange Hawks in the preliminary final, they hope to have Naden back on deck given the attacking threat she presents.

As for having their streak ended, Saints captain-coach Mish Somers says her playing group were more disappointed by their performance than losing undefeated status.

"That streak probably didn't cross anyone's mind, we just probably didn't play how we usually play, that was the more frustrating thing," Somers said.

"It was more that we could've stuck it to them and didn't, but they played a brilliant game and I don't think they made any mistakes.

"They defended well, made some good tags that on another day they miss. Just across the board they all played well, you couldn't single anyone out."

With just over a minute left in their game against Cowra Magpies on Sunday, Dubbo CYMS under 18s needed something special, enter Latrell Fing Fing.

The elusive halfback powered through a gap in the Cowra defence on the siren to level the score up at 14-all before stepping back to take the conversion.

A loud Apex Oval crowd suddenly went silent as the CYMS star struck the ball before he roared as the touch judges raised their flags with his side advancing through to the preliminary final.

Sunday's match between the two sides was a cracker and both teams deserved to win but unfortunately for Cowra it wasn't to be.

Having lead 14-10 for 10 minutes, the brilliant Cowra defence kept CYMS at bay for several sets before Fing Fing's heroics.

Anyone at the ground on Sunday will no doubt be hoping the two sides meet again in the grand final for what will surely be another brilliant match.

ONLY one club enjoyed a flawless weekend of football - Bathurst Panthers.

Their reserve grade team went straight through to a grand final thanks to their victory over Mudgee while the under 18s put themselves within one win of the decider thanks to their win over Forbes.

Then the Peter McDonald Premiership first grade squad got their upset win over Dubbo Macquarie Raiders to complete the sweep.

Panthers under 18s coach Mick Carter said he could see the hunger for victory in the senior men's team before the match had even begun.

"Panthers first grade they were under the pump, so that's massive performance from those guys. Then for reserve grade to come off with a great win over Mudgee at home - yeah it certainly inspired all the 18s boys," he said.

"They certainly didn't want to be the one team from Panthers to lose.

"I could tell in the just in their warm up that they were all ready for it, they were ready for it."

Dubbo CYMS were the other team to have three victories teams in the first weekend of finals, with their first grade, league tag and under 18s sides all walking away with success.

A narrow loss for their reserve grade team was the only thing preventing the club from claiming a perfect weekend.

IT was a very bittersweet weekend for St Pat's.

The Saints' senior team and their league tag sides both lost their games as the higher ranked teams, and for the Peter McDonald Premiership side it's the end of the road.

Saints skipper Zac Merritt said his team struggled to get much going in attack in their loss to Parkes Spacemen.

"Credit goes to Parkes because they got us in the corner of the mud patch and we couldn't get our way out and get good, clean ball very often down there, but in saying that you've got to turn up in the big moments," he said.

On the bright side for the Saints, their under 18s side looked in fine form during their big 54-10 elimination semi-final win over Dubbo Macquarie on Saturday.

Merritt said it will be great to see several players from that team battling for a place in his first grade squad in 2023.

"I think there's probably five to six guys coming up from that who will be looking for first grade positions next year and the deeper they go you can see that they're getting more confident," he said.

"We'll continue to build on for next year and see what comes of it, plus we've still got our league tag team in the finals as well."

The prospect of a Bathurst derby in the under 18s preliminary final is very exciting.

Panthers await the winner of this Sunday's semi-final between the Saints and Cowra Magpies, after the boys in black beat Forbes Magpies 24-8.

The Pat's juniors will be eager to get the better of the Magpies after the Cowra boys narrowly denied them a top two place on the Group 10 ladder.

ONE thing is already decided ahead of this year's Peter McDonald Premiership and Western 18s grand finals: A derby is off the agenda.

Bathurst and Dubbo both had opportunities to lock out a grand final with their clubs heading into the two respective finals series but that's no longer the case.

Defeats for St Pat's in the Peter McDonald Premiership and Dubbo Macquarie Raiders in both seniors and under 18s means we'll have to wait at least one more season to see clubs from the same city fight it out for a title.

Several clubs still have the chance to claim the PMP and 18s premiership double.

Dubbo CYMS are currently the red hot favourites to achieve that, as their two sides have already made it through to the preliminary finals, but Forbes Magpies and Bathurst Panthers are outside chances.

The Fishies were always going to be the club to watch as Group 10 and 11 came together this season and the weight of expectations hasn't weighed on them one bit.

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