THE last time Orange CYMS met Bathurst Panthers, in round five of the Group 10 premier league season, the green and golds blew a 16-point lead, eventually being forced into a 30-all draw with the men in black.
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Make no mistake, that draw has played on CYMS’ minds leading into Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash with Panthers in Bathurst.
It’s not casting doubt though, nor is it impacting CYMS’ immeasurable confidence at the moment.
If anything, the only reason the green and golds are thinking about that result is because they want to rectify it so much.
“That was disappointing that result. We had them and Panthers, they’re a good side, they came back really strongly,” CYMS lock Tim Mortimer said.
“We did lapse a bit there, but sometimes in footy that kind of thing just happens no matter how much you try and get out of it.
“But everyone is geared up and ready to go for Sunday, we don’t want that to happen again. We’ve been looking forward to it all week, as I’m sure Panthers have as well.”
Panthers have risen to some big challenges in recent games, I’m sure they’ll do it again.
- CYMS lock Tim Mortimer
The two sides are deadlocked at the top of the table on 21 competition points, but the green and golds’ superior points difference sees them take top spot.
As a result, the winner of Sunday’s blockbuster will take outright first with four games remaining after this one.
“Being in top spot at this point in the season is a pretty important thing as well, we certainly want to be there,” Mortimer said.
“We know Panthers will be pretty tough though. They’ve got a good, strong forward pack and some pretty flashy backs.
“Stopping any team’s go-forward through the middle is important and across the board it’ll be a good test for us defensively.
“We’ve put on some big scores recently so it’ll be good for us to have what we’re expecting to be a really tough, physical challenge.
“(Panthers captain-coach) Toddy Barrow has them in pretty good shape over there and they've risen to some big challenges in recent games, I’m sure they’ll do it again.”
Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash kicks off at 2.15pm, at Carrington Park.
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
