Patties turned to Border motorsport icon Brad Jones for inspiration ahead of their crunch clash with Albury at Xavier Oval.

Captain Kane Arendarcikas said Jones provided a different outlook as St Pat’s attempt to consolidate their spot in the top six.

“It was a great opportunity for our young group to go and see how a professional outfit goes about their business,” he said.

“Brad was brilliant, he spoke for about an hour and a half non-stop.

“People will probably wonder what motorsport and cricket have got in common but the more Brad got talking, it became clear there were a lot of parallels we could draw out of it.

“It’s just about your preparation and your work ethic – work hard and you’ll get lucky.”

With seven teams fighting for six spots, Arendarcikas said it was important for Patties to build on their impressive win against fellow finals contender Belvoir.

“We will treat it as if we are playing finals from here on in and Albury will be in the same boat,” he said.

Along with the form of younger players Matt Crawshaw and Tom Elwood, Arendarcikas said Scottish batsman Neil Smith had been one of the finds of the season for Patties.

“As a club, we decided to give the overseas player option a spell this year but Neil wanted to come back off his own bat,” he said.

“He felt like he owed us a year and he took it upon himself to come back which has worked out well for everyone. He’s playing with no expectations and has been fantastic for us.”

Meanwhile, Tallangatta and Lavington will do battle for second spot on the ladder when they meet at Rowen Park.

In other matches, North Albury will be out to move into the top six when it faces East Albury, Wodonga should be too strong for New City and Belvoir will look to bounce back against Wodonga Raiders.