Peter McDonald Premiership 2023: Noah Griffiths field goal leads Bathurst St Pat's past Nyngan Tigers

While Griffiths has spent countless hours playing football, he'd only kicked one field goal prior to the Peter McDonald Premiership season opener against the Tigers.

But with two minutes and three seconds left on the clock at Jack Arrow Oval, the five-eighth who was lured to the Saints from Bathurst Panthers produced the clutch play.

It was golden shot off his yellow boots, and it iced an at-time fiery season opener that eventually saw Tigers centre Clinton Edwards sent off for an elbow on St Pat's star Jackson Brien.

"Noah came across from Panthers and that's what he's been paid to do, to do things like that," St Pat's captain-coach Zac Merritt said.

"They're the games that last year we were losing. To win a premiership you've got to win the tight ones like that, so it was good."

The field goal was a fitting way to decide what was a dramatic clash between the Saints and Tigers.

The Tigers twice found themselves a man down in the first half but scored on both occasions they had player in the sin-bin.

Both sides were held up over the line twice, at one stage the Saints defended five consecutive sets, then the Tigers came from 16 points down to be on level terms with six minutes left.

New Nyngan halfback Josh Merritt, who's made the switch from Macquarie Raiders, had a shot at field goal with 39 second left, but it went wide to the right.

"It was back and forward the whole game ... I had a crack at a field goal there, but it wasn't meant to be I guess," he said.

"It was an unbelievable effort from the boys, unfortunately we came away with the loss, but that's footy I suppose.

"In the end our discipline did cost us, so that's something we have to work on."

It was another of the Tigers' new recruits, ex-Wellington Cowboy Mason Williams, who provided the spark for the first try of the epic clash.

He put a kick in behind the Saints line which didn't go far, but Williams then booted the ball some 40 metres off the ground.

Ashley Widders won the race to the ball and gave the Tigers the lead after four minutes.

The Saints responded with a pair of tries to debutant Tyrese Edwards on the right wing then, after Nyngan's Tuiloma Atuau was sent to the bin, it was Will Poole on the left edge who crossed for Pat's.

That put Nyngan down 16-6, but with 12 men on the field they still managed to strike. A nice step then huge kick from Corey Cox set up Widders for his second.

The final 10 minutes had the spectators feeling a sense of deja vu. Nyngan had Josh Merritt sent to the bin for a high shot, the Saints scored, but then the Tigers responded via Widders.

That made it 20-16 at half-time and the momentum shifts continued to come after the break.

Hooker Hayden Bolam scored for the Saints, but Nyngan won the ball back on a short kick-off, forced a line drop out then had the tackle count restarted three times.

However, the Tigers couldn't crack the Saints, a penalty was conceded out of frustration, the ball was marched down the field and on the last Willie Wright shaped to kick but ran it instead and scored.

It put the hosts up 32-16 with 22 minutes to go, but the Tigers weren't about to give up.

Second rower Cale Dunn ran some 35 metres to score, then Fletcher Hunt and Aidan Bermingham crossed in quick succession to lock it up.

It required Griffiths field goal to seal it for the Saints.

"We knew they weren't going to go away, it's a typical Group 11 side, you give them a sniff and they'll take a mile," Zac Merritt said.

"I think naturally when you get ahead you put the cue in the rack a little bit. But I think we learned a lesson there today, if you play any time, you've got to play the whole 80 minutes.

"We came and in and out of the game, so we know we have to work on that. But it was a good gritty win."

Having also had Edwards sent off for his elbow in the final play of match, discipline is an area the Tigers must improve.

But Josh Merritt said there were good signs as well as the Tigers look to improve on a record of two wins and 11 defeats from the inaugural PMP season.

"This was our first game together as a group, we went through the whole pre-season without a trial. So there's plenty of promise in the fellas and we're only a young group too, a couple of the boys came up from under 18s," he said.

"So I'm looking forward to what we can do for the rest of the season, we just have to fix up our discipline."

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