ONCE again this Group 10 premier league season Bathurst Panthers have bested St Pat’s, this time with an untidy 20-14 win at Carrington Park on Sunday.
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With 30 errors in total it wasn’t the most clinical of performances from either club but it was a tough defensive show from both sides.
Panthers were dominant in the opening half of the game to put themselves up 16-4 at the break but then had to survive a 10 minute period down a player thanks to five-eighth Jeremy Gordon’s sin binning.
Pat’s picked up a try while having the one-man advantage, but the Panthers managed to hit back despite being down a man.
The Saints could only muster one more try against a determined Panthers, who have maintained second spot on the ladder.
The second win in the Bathurst derby for Panthers follows on from April’s 30-22 success at the Sportsground.
It’s the sixth win in a row for the Panthers this premier league season.
“Any derby win is a good one. I think it’s been a long time since we’ve won one against Pat’s, let alone two in a year,” Panthers coach Todd Barrow said.
“We’re concentrating on getting better every week and I think we’re doing that. Sometimes we’re a little bit scrappy, and at this time of year most sides are with all the layoff from all the weather lately. It’s been hard to get to training because of that but we keep building.”
Barrow was impressed with the way his side held firm when reduced to 12 men early in the second half.
"We were put in a pretty similar situation last week. The boys had to lift and they did,” he said.
“To keep them to one try there, especially with the amount of footy they got in that second half, it’s a credit to how tight the boys are at the moment.
“It’s showing on the field. We’re sticking in there for one another and there’s a really good feeling at the club.”
Panthers dominated early possession as they forced Pat’s into back-to-back goal line drop-outs, eventually rewarded eight minutes in with Callum Young diving on a dropped bomb defuse attempt from the Saints.
Pat’s levelled the game back up at 4-all thanks to some impressive stepping from five-eighth Garry Reilly, which allowed him to break through the Panthers line and score in the right corner.
Jye Barrow went in for a try 10 minutes before the break to get Panthers back in front.
A Gordon 40/20 followed up by a perfectly placed grubber helped send Bradyn Cassidy over in the dying seconds of the half.
Panthers were dealt a big blow when Gordon was given a 10 minute spell on the sidelines for intentionally slowing the play the ball.
Tyson Medlyn instantly punished the men in black with a try next to the right corner post.
Pat’s failed to take further advantage of Gordon’s absence and instead it was their opponents who scored through Mitch Davis, with yet another dropped ball off a bomb allowing Panthers to go over.
The reply was swift from Pat’s thanks to a typical dummy half run from Benjamin John less than 10m out from the Panthers try line.
Despite enjoying the bigger share of possession over the remaining 24 minutes Pat’s couldn’t find their way across for another try.