A bruised and battered Bathurst St Pat’s side have a golden opportunity to recover this Sunday when they take on the Blayney Bears in the eighth round of Group 10 premier league.
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The match at the Sportsground pits together the two teams at the bottom of the ladder, but with both just four points away from the top five.
St Pat’s will be playing down on strike power following their loss to the Lithgow Workies last round.
Brady Cheshire is nursing a shoulder injury, Mitch Squire a groin injury and both Hudson White and Nathan Lawrence will be absent for this week’s game.
St Pat’s coach Kurt Hancock has plenty of confidence that he’s got the depth to cover for the missing group.
“We’ve still got a good enough team to beat Blayney. It’s going to be a tough weekend though,” he said.
“It’s been one of those years for us, but in saying that we’re only two wins away from the top five and there’s still a handful of home games for us to play.”
If there’s one recurring issue Hancock has seen in his team’s season more than any other it’s the ability to close out games.
“We’ve had some good individual performances but as a team we’re not clicking for that last half hour,” he said.
“We’ve been playing well for 50 minutes and then fall away. That’s the key for us this weekend, playing out the last 30.”
Kurt Norton makes his premier league debut for St Pat’s at fullback. Second rower Dane Thorogood has earned the call up from reserve grade.