This was not a game for purists of slick rugby league.

No fewer than 35 errors and 15 penalties made it just as tough for spectators as it was for players in the driving rain.

The surface of the ground held up well, but both sides were guilty of trying to play dry weather football and there  were plenty of errors that were almost unavoidable because of the slippery conditions.

If either side could get to kick, a high ball was almost impossible to take.

Two tries to Jeremy Gordon and another starring performance from the Panthers’ five-eighth highlighted the win, though in truth it was a generally strong, albeit scrappy effort from his side.

The struggling Hawks’ outfit battled the game out as best they could, and their effort level couldn’t be faulted.

They could even probably walk away with overall honours as far as the forward battle was concerned. 

But the winners deserved their result, and it means they now have six wins for the season.

“From what I’ve been told, Hawks are improving every week and they threw a bit at us today. The rain tends to even things up a bit as well,” Panthers’ captain-coach Todd Barrow said.

“Orange were pretty good for most of that first half. We lifted towards the end of it and then for the first part of the second half, but let it slip again towards the end. 

“We had to go back to basic footy. We spoke about that at half-time. I thought both teams had a big go at it in the second half.”

The early exchanges were nothing to write home about, with both teams swapping incomplete sets repeatedly until Panthers’ prop Greg Behan slid over from close range, his effort aided by the wet ground as a decent attempted tackle went unrewarded for Hawks.

There were 10 errors in total in the first 20 minutes and Panthers completed just two sets in that period. Summing up the scenario was a brilliant 40-20 kick from Gordon, from which Panthers made an almost predictable mistake.

The highlight of the half came when Panthers’ winger Chris Shephard put opposite number Mike Smith into touch, with the muddy ground almost forcing him straight through the interchange gates.

As they started to finally control the ball a little more, the hosts added to their tally through Gordon and Barrow, who both crossed, and from 18-0 Gordon made it 22-0 with a second try near half-time.

Hawks’ forward Matt Folaki was binned for 10 minutes for backchat just before the break to compound matters for the visitors. A Gordon kick immediately after kick-off for the second half was shelled by Hawks’ fullback Jedd Kennedy and moments later Leigh Monaghan crossed to all but guarantee the result for Panthers.

Hawks showed considerable fight to square the remaining 38 minutes at 10-all, and there is no doubt that they have the required effort and attitude to push some of the good sides late in the season. 

Panthers picked up a couple of extra tries in the last 20 minutes through Bradyn Cassidy and Blake Lawson, while Sam Satogi and Kyle Robbins crossed the stripe for Orange.

Viane Falaniko was easily Hawks’ best, taking countless hit-ups, and on a dry day his off-loading ability will cause plenty of headaches for opponents, while Satogi was also excellent up front, as well as back-rower Jack Middleton.

For Panthers Gordon, Nick Loader and Shephard were all strong.

“It is hard in conditions like these, no team ever plays their best and basically whoever can hold on to the ball more deserves to win,” Hawks’ coach Jason Gangaram said.

“The effort was definitely there, the execution wasn’t.” 

BATHURST PANTHERS 38 (Jeremy Gordon 2, Blake Lawson, Greg Behan, Todd Barrow, Leigh Monaghan, Bradyn Cassidy tries; Jeremy Gordon 5 goals) defeated ORANGE HAWKS 10 (Kyle Robbins, Sam Satogi tries; Brodie Christopherson goal)