St Pat's preview: Signings, potential lineup, and 2024 prospects

Chris Osborne takes over the head coaching role for the Saints this season and has an exciting squad on his hands.

As they head into the new season with a new mentor here's what the Saints' prospects look like in 2024...

Game-changing signings don't come much better than Mitch Andrews.

The former Forbes Magpies' move to St Pat's made waves among the Western league community when the news broke in October last year.

Pat's will be keen to see star hooker and former player of the season, Hayden Bolam, make his return from an ACL injury at some point around June.

Combined with the youthful halves combination of Cooper Neilsen and Noah Griffiths it makes for one of the most intriguing and high-ceiling spines in the competition.

Ray Towney also followed Andrews across from the Magpies and could be an electric addition to the wing.

It's not just those signings but also the results on the field that have St Pat's feeling good heading into round one.

The pre-season has been a promising one for the Saints, who made the Panthers Knockout grand final against the Mudgee Dragons.

The main game is a whole new ball game but the build up towards it has Osborne feeling positive.

"We're getting a lot of numbers to training and everyone's really enthusiastic. It's definitely been a long off-season," he said.

"Getting that one to 17 figured out has been hard, but enjoyable. I think the attitude's been really good, and we've had great numbers across all our three grades as well."

St Pat's continue to have a sneakily handy forward pack that tends to not get talked about as often as other teams.

Three members of that pack - Caleb Wardman, Aaron Mawhinney and Nick Booth - all gained Group 10 representative honours this season.

The continued presence of Luke Single and the return of veteran Jake Anlezark to the fold this year gives the team plenty of direction up front.

Once you put Bolam back into the mix the Saints can be genuine game changers, but don't sleep on rising talent Jack O'Neill to do a solid job in the number nine.

There's plenty of flexibility in the backs for St Pat's, with Andrews directing things from the number one spot.

Matt Beattie and Cal Naden will hope for big seasons in the backline after missing a bulk of the 2023 season due to injuries.

When you throw the ever-dominant Jackson Brien into the mix it makes for a fun group to watch.

There are a couple of injury concerns for the second row pairing of Haze Reweti and Caleb Wardman heading into the opening round against local rivals Panthers, but at full strength there's lots to like about the way the team shapes up.

Potential line up: 1 Mitch Andrews, 2 Ray Towney, 3 Matt Beattie, 4 Jackson Brien, 5 Cal Naden, 6 Cooper Neilsen, 7 Noah Griffiths, 8 Nick Booth, 9 Jack O'Neill, 10 Luke Single, 11 Haze Reweti, 12 Caleb Wardman, 13 Aaron Mawhinney, 14 Josh Hanrahan, 15 Jacob Anlezark, 16 Josh Belfanti, 17 Jack Branda

Andrews was one of the biggest signings of the off-season, and on his day is capable of turning a game in his team's favour almost on his own.

However, one man doesn't make a team so it's going to take mature and composed play from a young halves pairing and improved performances from the pack to make the Saints a force in 2024.

It will be interesting to see over the opening weeks what direction Osborne will take with the blue and whites, and whether they can trouble some of the favourites at the pointy end of the season.