WHEN one of your players gets a mention on the NRL Footy Show for his efforts and you score 13 tries in a match, it is a pretty good indication that things are travelling well.
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But even after a 32-point haul from fullback Jeremy Gordon inspired Bathurst Panthers to an amazing 72-12 win over Orange Hawks last Saturday, coach Todd Barrow is not letting his players get ahead of themselves.
Barrow knows three wins in the opening four rounds of the 2017 Group 10 premier league competition is a good start, but that’s all it is, a start.
There is still plenty of football to come, beginning with this Saturday’s match against the winless Blayney Bears at Carrington Park.
“They haven’t got off to the best start this year, but we won’t be treating them any different. We go into each game every week the same way,” Barrow said.
“We’ve talked about it at training and our first round especially, we are only worried about us and getting things right for us rather than worrying about anyone else.
“We are just working hard at training and hopefully everything else will take care of itself.”
One goal Barrow has set his players for the match against the Bears is maintaining intensity for the full 80 minutes. Prior to the effort against Hawks, Panthers had been slow to switch on in games.
“As everyone knows, our first halves have been pretty ordinary this year, but we got off to a good start [against Hawks] and had a lot of things go our way. It was good to put two halves together,” he said.
“We’d been dropping off in games in patches and it’s been hurting us. That CYMS game, they scored 22 points before we got on the board and against the good sides you can’t afford to be doing that.
“The way the comp is now, it’s pretty tight and if you don’t turn up, you get done. So that’s why we are, as I said, just worried about ourselves and making sure we get ourselves right.
“Going into the bye weekend as well, we want to make sure that we start well on Saturday.”
Jed Betts is not likely to play on Saturday due to a rib injury, but other than that, Barrow will have the same side as that which crushed the Hawks.
In the absence of Betts, the coach will play in the front row alongside Brent Seager, while Leigh Monaghan comes onto the bench.
“It’s good to be back in the middle, where I am probably more comfortable. I’m looking forward to it,” Barrow, who played off the bench last weekend, said.
Saturday match at Carrington Park will kick-off at 6pm, but the action begins with under 18s at 2.30pm.
