VICTORIOUS St Pat’s coach Kevin Grimshaw says that a first half ambush was the key to his team’s heart-stopping win over Mudgee at Carrington Park yesterday.

Grimshaw’s side piled on four unanswered tries in a devastating opening 20 minutes which ultimately decided the game and saw his Saints claim the Group 10 premier league title for the first time since 2001.

“In the first half I think they were expecting us to come out a bit flat after having those weeks off, but I think we might have surprised them a little bit,” he said.

“We always knew that we were going to struggle at the back end of the game which is why I kept a couple of fresh blokes who didn’t go on there until late.

“Full credit to Mudgee, they are a good side and we knew they were going to come back at us.”

In an early indicator of what was to come in the first half onslaught, prop and man of the match Wade Judd along with lock Matt Tilley took two hit-ups each in the opening set of the match.

Skipper and game-breaking hooker Trent Hemsworth also showed his hand early in scooting from dummy half with regularity as Pat’s dictated the tempo of the match.

They also made sure to put plenty of early pressure on Mudgee playmakers Steve Lane and Matt Stott, and it reaped rewards as both players repeatedly kicked the ball dead, were caught in no-man’s land and generally found it tough to find space.

Though Mudgee found some form in the second half and had a vocal crowd on the edge of their seats in the final 20 minutes, St Pat’s had enough in reserve to hold them out.

“I think our blokes probably wanted it a bit more,” Grimshaw said.

“No-one in particular [stood out for St Pat’s], but just as a group I thought they all dug in and wanted to win it.”

He also spoke of the influence of Liz Scott, who talked with the players about her late husband and club legend Dave prior to the match.

“It was pretty hard for Liz to do that, but you could hear a pin drop in the dressing room while she was talking so they were all switched on,” Grimshaw explained.

So how did he feel when the siren went and he could say that he had won a first grade premiership with the clipboard in hand?

“Relief. I’m pretty emotional about it actually.”