Lang’s try sealed a 38-12 win for Mudgee in the minor semi-final at Jubilee Oval and in the process it ensured Panthers’ 2011 campaign came to an end.

The Dragons were simple too disciplined for the men in black as their 20-0 lead at half-time stretched to a 26-point advantage by full-time thanks to Lang’s try and a chip-and-chase four-pointer from Kyle Cochrane.

“Mudgee has been getting players back slowly and they competed very well against CYMS last week and while you are competing with CYMS, you are competing with every team in the comp,” McDonald said.

“I think the boys played above themselves all year and even today I thought they played well, it’s just that Mudgee didn’t make any mistakes.”

Panthers beat Cowra at Cowra 32-30 in the first week of the finals but Bathurst’s momentum halted in the first set at Mudgee on Saturday.

From the first tackle Dragons hooker Chris Ward made Mudgee’s intentions clear, the number nine pulling off a big hit in defence.

Dragons coach Peter Hickman said the first set established the standard for the game.

“Our defence was just first class, keeping Bathurst scoreless in the first half was a credit to that,” he said.

McDonald said he was also happy with his side’s defence and only minor improvements had to be made.

“If we could have forced more errors, you know maybe that’s something we could have improved on, but the ball didn’t go our way, Mudgee completed their sets, they have a good set of forwards and they deserve their win.”

Mudgee captain Mat Stott pivoted to score first points in the 10th minute.

The Dragons then lost the ball in their next set and Panthers went on the attack.

However, they were to get no reward for their efforts as interchange player Brent Seager was held up over the line before William ‘Bubba’ Kennedy was also disallowed a try.

Kennedy and Panthers five-eighth Steve Lane looked at home on their former hunting ground but the danger pairing could not gel to find the line.

Mudgee turned defensive efforts into attack as a break from centre Sam Crowe then pass onto the chest of Jono George saw the Dragons in under the posts.

A Stott grubber allowed Hartley Sutton to score with seven minutes remaining before half-time and soon after Dragons fullback Terry Wood made a break to put Tom Baddock over for a try and a 20-0 lead.

The first points after the break were scored in similar fashion as a Corin Smith break led to a Wood try.

A pin drop could be heard at Jubilee Oval as Panthers scored their first points through Nathan Shaw against the run of play.

A second Panthers’ try via winger Jason Hewitt after a nice string of passes gave the visitors some hope, but the deficit proved too much.

Lang and Cochrane pushed the Dragons further ahead before Kennedy made a final dash and offloaded for a consolation try to Michael Godfrey

Hickman said the win was exactly what the Mudgee side needed.

“It has been a hard six weeks but it was probably about getting their heads on as winners rather than competing in a game,” he said. “Last week put us into a good frame of mind because that game could have gone either way against CYMS.”

The win finishes an era at Jubilee Oval as the game was billed as the last to be played by the club before a move to Glen Willow Sporting Complex next season.

MUDGEE DRAGONS 38 (Mat Stott, Matt Lang, Kyle Cochrane, Terry Wood, Tom Baddock, Jono George, Hartley Sutton tries; Mat Stott 5 goals) defeated BATHURST PANTHERS 12 (Nathan Shaw, Jason Hewitt, Michael Godfrey tries)