St Pat's face Cowra Magpies in second round of Western Under 18s finals series at Mudgee

The Saints travel to Mudgee this Sunday to take on the Cowra Magpies in the semi-final, where the Bathurst club are looking to build on the previous round's thumping 54-10 success against the Dubbo Macquarie Raiders.

Pat's, who finished third on the Group 10 ladder at the end of the regular season, are looking to be the definition of a team peaking at the right time of the year.

Any further progression in their game from their ruthless performance against the Raiders could make them a dark horse in the inaugural Western 18s title race.

If the chance to go within one win of a grand final isn't enough motivation for the Saints then the opportunity to set up a tantalising preliminary final Bathurst derby against Panthers will certainly do the trick.

Saints coach Matt Dunn said last round was an near-flawless execution of the game plan.

"I said to the boys at the start of the season that you don't win premierships in round one, you build into a season. They really turned a corner about a third of the way through the season and started playing some great football," he said.

"They've continued to build on that every week. Each week we identify a couple of areas where they can improve, and on the weekend against Dubbo Macquarie there were very few things that I could fault.

"They went into the second half and improved on the couple of little things that they needed to and it was almost a perfect game of footy. They only failed to complete three sets in the second half, which in those conditions was amazing."

Pat's will need more of that football against a Magpies side who have managed to get the better of them this season in May, 36-24.

However, the Bathurst club squared the ledger against the Cowra boys last month in a 36-20 win at home.

Dunn said the team will be happy to make the trek to a happy hunting ground at Glen Willow Stadium.

"Mudgee's a bit of a good omen for us. We went over there earlier in the season with 12 players and won. That brings back good memories. Hopefully they can bring over some confidence from last weekend," he said.

"We know their danger players. Hopefully the boys can shut them down.

"Their backline has always been fairly handy - their fullback, centres and two halves are all strong. They've got a lock who tackles all day and always seems to be there every time you think you've made a break.

"You can't give those backs any space. They'll just carve you up."

While some Saints are still nursing some minor injuries there will be no losses of personnel for the Saints from the team who accounted for the Raiders last Saturday.

The Magpies and Saints will kick off their semi-final in Mudgee at 12pm.

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