Fletcher Hunt, Will Black star as Nyngan Tigers under 18s defeat Bathurst St Pat's

The duo who helped steer the Tigers to the 2022 under 18s title turned it on again on Saturday to help their side to a 42-22 win over St Pat's.

Black crossed for three tries at Jack Arrow Oval and laid on another, while Hunt scored in the second half and had a pair of assists on his stats sheet as well.

It was an effort which was needed too as despite the final margin, the Saints dished out plenty to the side that defeated them on grand final day last year.

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Props Regan Stait and Justin Hodgson had a big impact off the bench for the Saints, second rower Henry Oates dished out some crunching defence, while five-eighth Lachie Fitzsimmons scored a double.

But the class of Black and Hunt shone through when it mattered.

"Our two halves, they dominated last year in their first year of 18s, so having a halfback and a five-eighth like that, we're pretty blessed really," Nyngan coach Troy Richards said.

"They definitely did set the tone and controlled it."

Take control is exactly what Black did for Nyngan early in the contest as the Tigers powered to a 12-0 lead inside seven minutes.

Off the back of repeat sets the five-eighth scored the opener, his speed off the mark then good fend helping him over the line.

Black then split the Saints defence open and found lock Ryan Urquhart in support for try number two.

But as quickly as the Tigers had gained momentum they lost it and it was another player in a number six jumper - Fitzsimmons - that had plenty to do with it.

When Fitzsimmons opted to fire a bullet pass to Dylan Branda on the last tackle instead of putting boot to ball in the 11th minute, the decision paid dividends.

Branda laid on a left foot step and the Saints were on the board.

The following set the blue and whites were in again as Fitzsimmons sold the Nyngan defence a big dummy and sliced through.

As Stait continued to rack up the metres - many of them post contact - it lifted his team-mates.

Nine minutes out from half-time when a Fitzsimmons grubber kick bounced awkwardly, Nyngan knocked on. The five-eighth then regathered and muscled his way over to give the hosts the lead.

But there was another twist to come as Will Black scored 42 seconds out from the break. Cooper Black converted and Nyngan was back in front at 18-16.

Four minutes into the second half that margin had ballooned to 30-16 as first Nyngan prop Troy Carter steamed over then Hunt and Black combined.

Hunt shrugged his way out of a tackle and got an excellent ball away for Black to make it a hat-trick.

Things didn't get much better for the Saints when Jack Branda was sin-binned and Hunt picked up another assist as he put Urquhart into a hole.

Down 36-16 the Saints tried hard to fight their way back into the contest and hooker Seb Klein - who made good yards out dummy half all game - gave them some hope when he dived over between the sticks.

The Saints carried the ball deep into Tigers territory on the next set, but then came some more Hunt magic.

He leapt high to take a bomb then sprinted 60 metres to score. Cooper Black iced the win with his seven conversion of the match.

"The boys went to sleep in the first half, I think after the first couple of tries they thought it was going to be an easy day and went to sleep and Pat's came back," Richards said.

"At half-time I just told them not to panic, Pat's have a pretty big side and there was a bit of tension there because they played each other in the grand final last year.

"It was good to get the win, but it was a lot closer game that what the scoreboard suggested."

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