Bathurst St Pats crossed the line well before the ball was even warm - the four-pointer on the back of a shock, one-on-one strip just one tackle into the game - and even the blue and whites looked a bit shocked at what had happened.

As St Pats nailed the conversion Bears' coaches Ryley Oborn and Lachie Hobby rallied the troops and demanded of them one simple tenet of rugby league: control the ball.

"After their first try we had a chat and told them that as long as we can control the ball and we get up into their half we'll get the runs on the board," Oborn said.

Soon after Joey Hobby, his locks trailing behind him as he barged through the St Pats defence, leapt between the posts and levelled the score at 6-all.

St Pats retaliated with their second, and final, try of the match because once the Bears had the ball under control, the points all went their way.

"Once we began talking to each other it all began to come together more," Oborn said.

One noticeable aspect of Blayney's game is just how brutally solid their defence has become this year, a development that's impressed Oborn.

"That's what's winning us the games, our defence. The points will come if we control the ball," he said.

Oborn said that the two week break took a slight toll on the team and would have preferred to have kept the momentum rolling, and he's aware that although they're at the top of the ladder now, the next three matches will truly test the side.

"This Sunday we'll be playing Bathurst Panthers in Bathurst then Orange Hawks and after that Mudgee," he said.

"We'll be playing the (other) top four teams."

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