We now have our eight finalists decided after an exciting last round of the regular season, and we get set for four enticing Group 10 vs Group 11 finals games.

Some teams left it late to book their place in the finals, others have continued to rain down points on their rivals while others now have to look towards 2023 as they try to hone in on what went wrong this season.

Here's the talking points after the weekend's latest round of action...

THERE'S nothing like a last day battle to decide the one remaining finals spot, and that's what spectators were treated to on Sunday at Carrington Park.

Bathurst Panthers had to win over Lithgow Workies to get back ahead of Orange Hawks into fourth spot on the table, which they managed to do in a 52-18 victory at home.

It's a different situation for a Panthers side who have become accustomed to wrapping up a finals position much earlier than this, having entered the Peter McDonald Premiership as the two-time defending Group 10 premiers.

Spare a thought for Hawks who battled hard to get past Cowra Magpies 22-20 on Saturday to jump inside the top four on Saturday, only to drop back down to fifth less than 24 hours later.

Panthers skipper Jake Betts said after an injury-ridden season for his side it's great to enter finals with such a positive result.

"It always feels great after you win a game like that. The confidence is high at the moment but we're not under any illusions that we don't have to work hard," he said.

"We're going to have to do things the hard way. We've got our backs against the wall but we'll thrive on that.

"We've got Dubbo Macquarie to come. You're going to have to get through them all at some point if you're going to win the whole thing, so we'll put our best foot forward and see how we go."

THE race for the regular season's top points scorer title wasn't really a close battle in the end as Parkes Spacemen halfback Chad Porter sailed clear.

Porter added another try and six conversions to his name in Sunday's 36-14 victory over the Wellington Cowboys to finish with a personal haul of 154 points.

It was a Group 11 lockout of the points podium, with Forbes Magpies halfback Nick Greenhalgh (122) and Dubbo CYMS fullback Brad Pickering (112) rounding out the top three.

Orange CYMS' Patrick Williams (106) was the only other player to surpass the century.

All four of those players will have the opportunity to add to their respective tallies in the upcoming finals series.

Dubbo CYMS' livewire Jeremy Thurston is atop the try scorers' list with 18, followed by Forbes' Mitch Andrews and Bathurst Panthers' Desi Doolan (both 16).

Mudgee Dragons' Corin Smith (15) and Parkes' Chad Porter (14) were the other players to score at a rate of one try per game or better.

IT'S a debate which existed long before the concept of the Peter McDonald McDonald was even tabled, it's a debate which has continued this season, and the debate over which is the stronger out of Group 10 and Group 11 will no doubt intensify this weekend.

After starting with 13 contenders now only eight remain - four from Group 10 and four from Group 11.

Each of this weekend's finals will be battles drawn along the old Group lines.

There's eliminators which will see Dubbo Macquarie and Bathurst Panthers face off and St Pat's fighting for survival against Parkes.

Then there's the Dubbo CYMS versus Orange CYMS and Mudgee against Forbes qualifiers.

Two of those clashes have already occurred, Pat's beat Parkes 30-20 in round one and Forbes edged out Mudgee 22-20 in round two, but the others are unknown territory.

It's a chance for Group 10 to prove its credentials.

It's an opportunity for Group 11 to show it's the stronger of the league rivals.

But what it also shows the draw for the inaugural competition has worked out well.

While Group 10 president Linore Zamparini knows the draw can be improved, that the eight sides with the best records are those that have emerged from the pool system is a good look.

"It's still a work in progress with everything in the Peter McDonald Premiership draw, we're not going to get it right 100 percent straight up," Zamparini said.

"But it will always work that way for the finals ... you'll just take the top four from each Group.

"Look you could be in Group 10 and have won more games but someone in Group 11 is going to sneak in because from each Group it's one, two, three, four, but that's just how it is.

"If you keep winning well you don't have to go into the correspondence then, you just walk straight in."

WITH eight teams making the finals it means that, sadly, five others have to miss out.

For Group 10 sides Orange Hawks, Cowra Magpies and Lithgow Workies plus Group 11's Nyngan Tigers and Wellington Cowboys it's the end of the road for 2022.

For now they'll rest up, and then the time will come to assess what's needed to be done ahead of 2023.

Hawks only missed out on finals by a solitary point, so there's not a mountain to climb for them to try and reach the next level, but for the other four clubs there's plenty of work ahead.

Cowra and Nyngan won't be in panic stations just yet, as they know that a mixture of injuries and suspensions made the going tough this season.

However, Wellington and Workies will certainly be chasing more numbers to help bolster their prospects.

Workies player-coach Greg Alderson said it's been a tough road for the club over the past three seasons.

"We're very much rebuilding at the moment. COVID's hit us pretty hard. There's a fair few of our boys from the mountains and after that situation they couldn't get down there," he said.

"We lost probably 40 players from 2019 and they've all either moved away or retired. We're in a rebuilding process now and we've got a few local boys that are playing well. If we can build on that, keep them around, have a good pre-season then we can shake it up next year."

The club's under 18s have given the club something to smile about as they gear up for finals.

It's not often you'd find high drama in Group 10 reserve grade but the past two weeks have been nothing but.

As discussed in this column last week, Orange CYMS were appealing their 30-30 result against Bathurst Panthers after the latter scored after what should have been full-time.

CYMS were successful in their appeal and awarded the two points.

Needing to keep their finals dream alive, CYMS were facing a red-hot Mudgee team on Sunday who sat in first place.

A 28-14 result landed the way of CYMS as they managed to stay in fourth with Panthers jumping from fifth to second with a win over Lithgow Workies.

The loss for Workies was a brutal turn of events as they went from third to missing out on finals all together.

Macquarie Raiders captain-coach Alex Ronayne sported blood and cuts all over his face after his sides' game against Dubbo CYMS on Sunday but it didn't stop him from praising an unsung hero.

After a few injuries early, Raiders hooker Kane McDermott was instrumental in getting Macquarie back in the middle as well as handling the CYMS forward pack.

While his efforts may go unrecognised by some, Ronayne knows just how valuable McDermott could be come finals time.

"I'm very impressed with Kane McDermott," he said.

"He does a lot of stuff people don't see but credit to those boys.

"We will get ready for next week then take it week by week."

The Raiders will now turn their attention to a sudden-death semi final against Bathurst Panthers set to played at Apex Oval on Saturday evening.

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