Despite being reining premiers, St Pat's Old Boys' campaign has been arguably the bumpiest of any in the Twenty20 competition.

They haven't had an easy run, with losses to first and second-placed CYMS and Orange City, with the side's final win over Bathurst City only giving them a sniff at finals.

In fact the Saints team thought they'd miss finals finals, but after Centennials Bulls had a narrow four run win over Lithgow Lightning last Friday, it was enough to keep the defending champions in fourth spot and a precious play-off spot.

They've hit finals, where the old adage says anything can happen but they face the most daunting semi-final possibly against the unbeaten Orange CYMS.

But they're not fazed by the task at hand, as the Saints boys look to keep the Royal Hotel Cup trophy in Bathurst for the third consecutive season and away from Orange for a fourth campaign running.

Saints skipper Adam Ryan said his side is likely to be at the strongest it has been all season in the Royal Hotel Cup.

"We're really excited about the cup considering we thought we weren't going to be in the finals," he said.

"The really good part for us is we probably have our strongest side going into the match. It's a headache as a selector to figure out who's going to play. It's good to have everyone playing.

"CYMS are red hot in this format and we'll have to play really good cricket if we want to compete with them.

"We'll definitely be doing our best, if we bat first, to hit 160-odd. That's been our favourite score and our goal. We'll bowl really well to defend that."

Ryan was surprised to find out that results went his team's way.

"We had no expectations. We just had our eyes set on winning our game and then all of a sudden, we find out we're in the finals. A bit of a weird one, but we'll thank our lucky stars for it."

The winner will progress to the final on February 28 and will play the winner of Orange City or Cavaliers on February 21.