THEIR winning streak ended at four games last week so now St Pat's are on a mission to begin another run of success when they travel to face Dubbo Macquarie this Sunday's Peter McDonald Premiership clash.
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The Saints were looking like a serious force during their recent winning stretch - which included a win over the previous unbeaten Mudgee Dragons - but suffered a hiccup in last round's loss to Parkes Spacemen.
That performance will serve as a wake up call for the Saints as they look to lock down a valuable top two result in the Group 10 conference.
This will be the first ever clash between Pat's and Raiders in the premiership.
The Saints are facing a Raiders outfit that can be considered on the verge of desperation mode.
![Hayden Bolam and St Pat's play Dubbo Macquarie this Sunday. Picture by James Arrow. Hayden Bolam and St Pat's play Dubbo Macquarie this Sunday. Picture by James Arrow.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/YpbCWLfGAstDHC22gJwdbm/748203a7-130d-4527-9fa4-946c5aa0c429.jpg/r416_589_1511_1296_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
With just six games left in the season the Dubbo side sit three points outside of the Group 11 top four and still have games against Dubbo CYMS, Parkes Spacemen and Nyngan Tigers to come.
A 20-18 loss last week to Lithgow Workies could be looked back on as the killer blow for Macquarie, especially if they can't get by the Saints this weekend.
That's something that's not lost on Saints player-coach Zac Merritt.
"We know they got beaten by Lithgow on the weekend but that means nothing when you head up there. We'll prepare as best we can, and we're also coming off a loss. If we can't get up for it then we shouldn't be playing," he said.
"We won't be taking them lightly, that's for sure.
"That loss to Parkes last week hurt especially after they beat us by a point at home last year, and that wasn't our best performance in the weekend just gone either.
"You could say they caught us at a good time after three weeks off. We were very, very flat - that's no excuse really, we weren't good enough - but we've got that run under our belt and we'll be better off for that."
Pat's sit on 10 points on the Group 10 ladder, four off leaders Mudgee and just two clear of both Orange Hawks and Bathurst Panthers.
"We want to stay inside that top two and give ourselves every chance of taking that minor premiership," Merritt said.
"Coming into this off a loss gives us a lot of motivation to try and bounce back and stay in that top two spot.
"You obviously don't want to be relying on that second chance in the finals but it's nice to have that extra chance to stay in the running."
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