Sitting second on the 2017 ladder with just one loss next to their name at the halfway point of the season, Panthers were made to storm home against a willing two blues outfit that led 28-16 mid-way through the second stanza.

In front of a growing crowd that streamed through the gates ahead of the NRL clash between Penrith and Canberra, Jeremy Gordon lifted his side over the line with two late tries while laying on another to secure a stirring 38-28 win.

In total, Gordon scored three tries in the Raiders-Panthers curtainraiser - taking his individual tally to six in the last two games against Heta’s Hawks.

With the game on the line, Panthers looked to their best player and he delivered big time.

"They stunned us. We were on the ropes there, but a couple of late tries got us home,” Gordon said after the clash.

"I'm just lucky, on the spot. Right time, right place."

The gripping 10-point win was in stark contrast to the last time the two sides met, Panthers running away 72-12 victors at Pride Park in Orange.

While still a loss, Willie Heta was confident the ginormous turnaround, even without gun fullback Jed Kennedy and missing veteran props Arty Shead and Sia Nemani, will hold his side in good stead as it mounts a run for a spot in the top five.

“I'm pretty happy with the effort, it's unfortunate we didn't get the win,” Heta said.

"We'll get Jedd back and hopefully we string a few together and finish a few games off."

Hawks shot out of the blocks in the first half, tries to Brett Morgan and Jordan Baker gifting the visitors a 10-0 lead.

Panthers hit back through Gordon’s first at the 13-minute mark and from there enjoyed the majority of the running.

Tries to former Hawk Kyle Byrnes and then Claude Gordon propelled the hosts to a 16-12 lead, Heta’s penalty goal the only points for Hawks after that stunning start.

As they did in the first though, Hawks again rocketed out of the blocks in the second half.

Three tries in the opening 15 minutes, the best of which was a display of absolute brute strength from Sione Tongia, raced the two blues to a 28-16 lead in what seemed like the blink of an eye.

Panthers looked frazzled. An upset was brewing.

But Gordon didn’t want a bar of that.

Playing in the halves in the absence of Doug Hewitt, Gordon slipped through a gap in the 58th minute to score before Bradyn Cassidy found the line two minutes late and then Gordon scored the try of the game.

Grubbering through the two blues defence for his winger, Kade Barrow regathered before finding his brother Jye back on the inside.

The older of the two in Panthers’ left-side Barrow connection, Jye looked to be stumbling to the line before passing back on the inside to Gordon to complete his hat-trick.

It was a six minute period that turned what was a 12 point deficit into a 34-28 advantage.

Hawks blinked again - only this time the game was gone.

Gordon laid on another try inside the final 10 minutes, this time to Kade Barrow, to put the icing on the win and certify Panthers’ claim as a genuine top two outfit.

"It was a slow start again from us again but Hawks put it to us all game, they're a good footy team,” Gordon said.

“They'll be there around semi-final time. It's just we were completing and they took advantage."

Heta said it was disappointing his side couldn’t close out the result.

“We've got to learn how to win games,” Heta said, playing fullback in the absence of Kennedy.

He was still thrilled with the turnaround from the previous clash with Panthers though.

“To match it from where we last played Panthers, it's good to see we were in it against one of the top teams,” he added.

"Like I said, if we can learn how to win these games, we're progressing."

BATHURST PANTHERS 38 (Jeremy Gordon 3, Bradyn Cassidy, Claude Gordon, Kyle Byrnes, Kade Barrow tries; Jye Barrow 5 goals) def ORANGE HAWKS 28 (Sione Tongia, Brett Morgan, Jordan Baker, Viane Falaniko, Caleb Lewis tries; Willie Heta 4 goals)