Set Of Six: Peter McDonald Premiership finals picture taking shape with one round to go

We still have one finals spot to decide, there are teams hoping to get their best team back on the paddock in time for this weekend while others are firing on all cylinders ahead of the most important part of the season.

Here's the news to come out of last weekend's penultimate round of action...

THERE'S still one round remaining but we already have a couple of finals matches penned in for the first round of finals across August 13 and 14.

As a refresher: The top placed teams on the Group 10 and 11 ladders will play the second placed sides on the opposite ladder. The same crossover pattern will take place in third versus fourth sudden death matches.

So you better starting making plans to catch a blockbuster opening round Fishies derby between Group 11 premiers Dubbo CYMS and Group 10 runners-up Orange CYMS - a fixture that's already been penned in.

The two regular heavyweights of their respective groups never got the chance to meet each other during the regular season, but now they meet on the big stage.

Newly crowned Group 10 premiers Mudgee Dragons are still waiting to see whether their finals opponent will be Dubbo Macquarie Raiders or Forbes Magpies.

Raiders currently hold second spot in the Group 11 race by just a point over the Magpies.

Dubbo Macquarie have a tough matchup with Dubbo CYMS this weekend while the Magpies take on the Nyngan Tigers.

The other finals matchup that's already been locked in is the St Pat's versus Parkes Spacemen fixture.

ST Pat's would have ended a five year wait for finals football in last year's Group 10 premier league competition but COVID-19 had other ideas.

One year on and they get the chance they waited for - this time against Group 11 opposition.

Pat's will play Parkes Spacemen in a knockout semi-final in the Peter McDonald Premiership, and they'll do so off the back of a bye.

There's always different schools of thought about whether a bye before finals is a blessing or a curse, and Pat's player-coach Zac Merritt sees both sides of the coin.

"There's a couple of niggling injuries at the moment but I think you would still rather keep playing as you go into finals," he said.

"I think the boys are fit enough to turn up that first week against Parkes at home.

"We'll have a big week next week. It's a whole different ball game now in the semis. It's something that we haven't been involved in for six years.

"I'm really proud of the boys as a unit but the job's not done just yet."

Bathurst Panthers might've tied the score in their 30-all draw against Orange CYMS on Saturday afternoon in Group 10 reserve grade but there's still plenty to come.

The time-keeping situation could be described as nothing more than a farce.

With 15 minutes to go, the scoreboard went haywire.

When full-time arrived the screen came to life, but with 13 minutes remaining on the screen.

Confusion reigned with toing and froing between both teams and in the time-keepers box.

During the time of confusion, Panthers were able to score to lock up the score at 30-all with full-time blown after the fact.

To make matters more interesting, CYMS needed a win to keep their finals hopes alive.

While the referees full-time whistle is commonly known as final, this situation may not be over yet.

AFTER Dubbo CYMS' win over Wellington on Sunday, centre Jyie Chapman sang the praises of one of his teammates, one who has had an outstanding season.

Chapman called fellow centre Jeremy Thurston the best playing in the competition after he scored another double on the weekend in the 44-6 victory.

"That's probably the best thing about it, the boys out there on the field like Jeremy (Thurston)," he said.

"If he isn't the best player in the comp this year then I don't know who is so I'm enjoying it out there at the moment."

Thurston managed to score his brace inside the opening 30 minutes before leaving the field early due to injury.

But his pair of tries were enough to move him even further ahead of the Peter McDonald Premiership try-scoring tally with 18 four-pointers this season.

THIS year a new-look Bathurst Panthers side looked like they would be able to carry the dominant years they enjoyed in Group 10 into a new competition.

The team are without both Brent and Blake Seager this year along with former captain-coach Doug Hewitt, and they lost Blake Lawson and Nick Loader very early in the season, but there was plenty of depth at the club to fill the void.

Now further injury are testing that depth to its limit.

Panthers manager Danny Dwyer said those losses are particularly being felt through the middle of the park, an area where the team have been dominant in past seasons.

"We're not a big side, so we're struggling to hold some of the bigger sides that we're playing against. Just look at CYMS tonight, they've gone 50 metres up the field in four tackles and we're struggling to bring it out of our own 20m," he said.

"We're hanging in there though and they're doing well. We need to make sure the confidence is up and that we can get that win against Workies.

"The effort was certainly there tonight but it's just the little things not going right."

Panthers need a victory over Lithgow Workies in the last round to ensure they play finals, otherwise they'll need the chasing Orange Hawks to lose against the Cowra Magpies.

ONE of the most intriguing battles going into the last round of the Western competitions is the fight for top spot in the Group 11 under 18s ladder between Dubbo CYMS and Nyngan Tigers.

Not only are the pair locked together on 26 points but they're also separated by just 10 points on differential, which makes this weekend's last set of matches incredibly intense.

They promise to be great games as well - CYMS face Dubbo Macquarie Raiders and Nyngan go up against Forbes Magpies in a pair of high-quality contests between Group 11 opponents.

Bathurst Panthers might be fighting for survival in the Peter McDonald Premiership but their under 18s are on fire this year, having already wrapped up the Group 10 premiership prior to the weekend's latest round.

Their cross-city rivals St Pat's are locked in a great battle for second spot on their ladder, with both clubs locked on 20 points going into the last round.

Pat's are guaranteed two points with the bye but they'll hand up second spot if Cowra beats Orange Hawks by 13 or more points.

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