A razzle dazzle display of attacking rugby league against Centennial Coal Cup cellar dwellers Bathurst Villages in freezing conditions at Blackheath Oval last Saturday reignited the Blackcats' season.
The confidence-building 52-6 win kept the Blackcats in second place in the eight-team competition on 11 points - a point ahead of the Lithgow Bears and three points behind undefeated frontrunners CSU Yellow, whom they face this Saturday in Bathurst.
Diehard fans braved sleet and the odd snowflake falling last Saturday to cheer on Blackheath, who were in red hot form.
Thomas Gasperee, Brad Jervis and Michael Rennie scored early tries for the Cats on the back of plenty of possession and early domination in the forwards.
By the end of the first half player/coach Jed Jervis had scored his debut try for Blackheath after a strong charge, Jessie Lua Lua touched down, Greg Nankervis kicked three conversions and Villages hadn't troubled the scoreboard attendant.
To their credit Villages scored the opening try of the second half but that seemed to fire the Blackcats up, who took control of the match from that point on, posting another five tries.
Jessie Lua Lua, Brock Tarrant and Ryan Evans all scored.
The highlight of the game was youngster Locky Taylor scoring his first try for the club and then nailing the conversion as the full-time siren sounded.
The Players' Player award for the match went to Ryan Jervis, who also was named the Cats' best and fairest player, followed by Steve Easter and Greg Nankervis.
After several poor seasons when the club struggled to field a full top grade team, the Blackcats have bounced back to form and are well-placed for a finals berth with only one-third of the season left to play.
But they know they will need to improve and avoid any lapses in concentration when they face the powerful CSU Yellow side on Saturday.
Points table: CSU Yellow 14, Blackheath 11, Bears 10, Wang 8, CSU Blue 6, Kandos 6, Orange 5, Villages 2.