Bathurst’s rugby league stocks are looking better than ever after all four Panthers sides and three Saints squads made the cut for post-season football.

Panthers finished with one of the best regular season records in the club’s history, with the premier league, first division, under 18s and league tag teams all finishing inside the top three.

The defending champion first division team will enjoy a week off after claiming the minor premiership.

Pat’s may have missed out on premier league finals but their under 18s (finished 2nd), league tag (3rd) and first division (5th) teams remain in the hunt for a title.

Panthers president Dennis Comerford said his club are reaping the rewards for a year of strong efforts.

“To have all four sides in the top three is a massive effort. They’ve been right up there from the word go,” he said.

“Last year reserve grade looked like they wouldn’t win a game when they lost five from five. Ever since then they’ve only lost one grade. It’s been a huge effort from them and the girls.

“The under 18s have had an up and down year but they’ve managed to work their way into the top three. 

“Credit has to go to the coaches for getting them there, as well as the support staff. You need to have all of them to make it work.”

Panthers’ premier league men are preparing for a rematch with the Oberon Tigers, who they crushed by 50 points in the last round of the regular season.

Comerford said all signs point in the right direction for the team.

“We started rebuilding first grade seven years ago. We knew to rebuild that it was going to take time. We put together a five year plan, but it’s taken a bit longer than expected to get there,” he said. 

“Last year was a great year as well but we were just dead set unlucky not to be playing in the grand final.

“This year we’ve got a better side, even though we haven’t changed personnel much. The young guys have matured a lot and they know what it means to play semi-finals football at this level.

“You can’t fault them. They’ve only lost one game, and we fought our way back into that match and lost by just one try.”

Pat’s have undergone a turbulent season across most of their grades and with that in mind president Dave Chapman was thrilled to see three teams make the cut.

“It’s a good result after the poor start we had in our senior men’s grades. If the crystal ball told me we’d have three teams making finals after our starts I would take it,” he said.

“Our league tag girls have always been strong and again this year they’ve been consistent.

“Our juniors took a while to gel but [Mark] ‘Chika’ Booth has done a great job at getting the team to work together and giving them a chance to play finals football.

“We always said if our reserve grade guys could sneak in that there would be a strong chance they could shake things up. Rhys Frame has done well to get that group through.”

This Sunday will see two Panthers v Pat’s fixtures take place in the league tag and under 18s qualifying finals.