IT took a Bubba Kennedy intercept try to spark the Bathurst Panthers to life in the Group 10 Premier League competition as they rallied from behind to get the better of the Cowra Magpies 32-24 on Saturday.
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The Carrington Park clash was looking like a sad homecoming for the Panthers in the early stages, but a second-half resurgence gave them their first win of the season.
Bathurst coach John Fearnley was proud of his side’s ability to keep their heads up after conceding points early.
“There’s some really good things to take out of it – the boys’ good character after they made some mistakes in the first half. The forwards laid the platform as we worked through the middle before sending the ball wide,” he said.
“It was the same game plan as we had against Oberon, but this time it was executed much better. We won, but now it’s on again for Pat’s.
“To be a good first grade side you’ve got to be able to play for the full 80 minutes week in, week out.
“We went to sleep there for 10 minutes in the second half which has cost us in the past but luckily it didn’t this time.”
Cowra caught Panthers’ defence napping in the early stages of the first half when they raced to a 14-0 lead. But Panthers soon found their rhythm and a try to Jake Betts in the dying stages of the opening 40 minutes got the home side’s deficit back to eight points.
From the outset of the second half it was Panthers applying the pressure on the back of excellent football from Betts and a quick try got them within two points.
The visitors had an attacking opportunity in Panthers’ territory but Tim Holman’s long ball was pounced on by Kennedy who raced 70 metres down the field to put his side in front.
Another two tries had Panthers sitting at 26-14 but two quick Cowra tries of their own reduced that lead to two and made a contest of the final 10 minutes. When Cowra made an error in the dying stages, however, it gave the home side the icing on the cake with a Mick Ingwersen four-pointer.
Cowra coach Steve Sutton said that his side switched off in the second half, with Kennedy’s try putting a dent in his side’s confidence.
“The intercept was the turning point. Timmy went for the long pass and Bubba swooped on it. Timmy could throw that exact same long ball and next time Bubba might not get near it but that’s footy,” he said.
“We talked about doing the same thing in the second half as we did in the first half but it didn’t happen. We need to work on our defence.
“If we score five tries like we did then we should be winning.”
Cody Robbins was a casualty from the game and will miss the Bathurst derby in two weeks’ time with an ankle injury.
BATHURST PANTHERS 32 (Josh Small 2, Jake Betts, Mick Ingwersen, Bubba Kennedy, Matt Rose tries; Cody Robbins 3, Matt Rose goals) def COWRA MAGPIES 24 (Ron Lawrence 2, Aiden Craig, Toby Nobes, Phil Ingram tries; Jack Nobes 2 goals)