IT wasn’t pretty but Bathurst Panthers were able to get the result they were hoping for in their Group 10 premier league match on Sunday.
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Panthers overcame an error-riddled start to lift their game and run away 40-12 winners over the Lithgow Workies at Carrington Park.
Kade Barrow and Claude Gordon each picked up two tries in the Panthers win.
Discipline became an issue for the Workies in the second half as both Corey Willmott and Mitch Case were sent to the sin bin in separate incidents. Panthers picked up three tries while they had the one-man advantage.
Lithgow went into the break down only 14-12 but the Panthers kept the visitors scoreless in the second term.
While the Bathurst men tried to force the issue too often – producing several forward passes and dropped offloads – they still came home comfortable winners.
Panthers coach Todd Barrow was happy to see his men step up their game following the half-time break.
“Our completions in that first half were 16 out of 26 so it was nowhere near good enough. In the second half we turned it around. In the first 20 minutes of that half we were 10 from 10 in completions,” he said.
“The scoreboard started to reflect that, but we’ve got a lot to work on. It was a wake up call we needed. It was good to get the win, and for those for 20 minutes Workies really put it to us.
“We’ve got a lot of new players at the club and I think it’s going to take a few weeks to bring it all together but there’s some positive signs there.
“Ozzie [Simon Osborne] made a difference for us today and young Jarrod Seager has really come a long way in the last 12 months.”
The Panthers were their own worst enemy over the opening quarter of the game as errors allowed the Workies to remain on the attack.
After nine minutes Workies’ Nick Young broke the deadlock with a try, and a Jono Van Veen penalty goal shortly after took the score out to 6-0.
However, back-to-back unconverted tries from Kade and Todd Barrow helped the Panthers to their first lead of the match in the 30th minute.
Panthers went out to a 12-6 lead thanks to Blake Seager, a try earned on the back of some slick passing from both Jeremy Gordon and Doug Hewitt.
Van Veen struck in the shadows of half-time to keep the hosts on their toes going into the second half.
Panthers came out determined in the new half and it quickly led to a Hewitt try. Leigh Monaghan then found a try by the left corner post to take the score to 24-12.
When Willmott was told to take a sit on the sideline Panthers extended their lead through Claude Gordon and Kade Barrow.
With four minutes left to play, and with Case now watching on from the bench, Claude Gordon wriggled free of several Workies defenders to go over for the final try of the day.
Workies coach Chris Rhodes said there were some positives from the game.
“We completed our sets well and hung with them for those first 20 minutes,” he said.
“That’s our first hit out together all year so there’s definitely good signs there. There’s a few things to work on but I’m just really happy with our completions and attitude more than anything.”