BATHURST Panthers had some touches of Gabe Langdon magic, but St Pat's had the brilliant boot of Lachlan Fitzsimmons and that's what made the difference in the first under 18s Bathurst derby of the year.
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The Saints emerged as 12-10 victors from the Bathurst Panthers Knockout opener at Carrington Park on Friday evening and it was a sideline conversion from Fitzsimmons that separated the pair.
It iced an excellent performance from Fitzsimmons as he began his transition from hooker to five-eighth in a new-look Saints spine.
The new number six also scored the opening try in what was a typically spicy clash between the Bathurst rivals.
It came in eighth minute as he hit the ball at speed on an angled run and sliced straight through Panthers' on-line defence.
He converted his try to make it 6-0, but after the Saints lost the ball following the kick-off, Panthers made them pay.
Or more correctly, Langdon did.
His quick thinking saw him catch out the Saints' markers, scooping the ball up from dummy half and diving over the line.
It meant Panthers went to the break - the halves only being 15 minutes long in the pre-season event - just two points behind their rivals.
It also paved the way for an eventful second half.
In the 15 minutes that followed there were things to like for both new Panthers coach Troy Meath and returning Saints mentor Matt Dunn.
Dylan Branda, who Dunn is hoping will be one of the on field leaders for the Saints this season, delivered in the second row.
When a Panthers rival spilled the ball in the 19th minute, Branda pounced and ran some 35 metres to score in the left corner, fending off rivals as he went.
It was a try Fitzsimmons converted only a handful of metres in from the sideline to make it 12-4.
Pat's prop Riley O'Loughlin made some strong charges - doing it multiple times in a set more than once - and hooker Seb Klein picked up handy metres around the ruck.
The Saints also survived a tense final 10 minutes.
Having scored 25 tries in last season's Tom Nelson Premiership at centre for Panthers, Haydn Edwards was deployed at fullback on Friday and made some excellent counter-attacking runs.
Panther halfback Lachlan Meath showed good vision with his kicking game and threw some crisp cut-out balls, and there was another piece of Langdon brilliance too.
As the Saints attacked his try line, the centre plucked an intercept and had enough speed to run the length of the field to score.
That try, and the subsequent conversion, had Panthers in reach at 12-10 with a tick over six minutes left.
But that's as close as Panthers got to the Saints and as they lost 24-0 to Mudgee in their second match, their knockout campaign was a winless one.
As for the Saints, they had no joy in their second game either as they went down 10-0 to Lithgow.
Lithgow and Mudgee advanced to the final.
ST PAT'S 12 (Lachlan Fitzsimmons, Dylan Branda tries; Lachlan Fitzsimmons 2 goals) defeated BATHURST PANTHERS 10 (Gabe Langdon 2 tries; Noah Constable goal)
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