Bathurst Panthers were too good for Lithgow Workies 26-12 in a fiery contest at Tony Luchetti Showground on Sunday afternoon.
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The two sides were sitting at opposite ends of the Group 10 premier league ladder before the match, Panthers with seven wins from eight games and Workies with just two victories.
However Lithgow and Bathurst could not be split in a scrappy first 20 minutes as both teams matched each other with quality play and drop ball.
Workies scored first through hitman Corey Willmott but Panthers had the better of the last 50 minutes to claim a 14 point win – their eight victory in a row.
Panthers coach Todd Barrow said Workies gave his team the tough contest they were after.
"Lithgow were pretty good though that first 20 minutes, they had all the footy, all the momentum,” Barrow said.
”We've both got big packs of forwards, we love mixing it up with Lithgow.
"Any win in Lithgow is a good one.
"It was good one to have leading into the CYMS game. It was nice and physical, I think it was what we needed."
Workies coach Chris Rhodes lamented his side’s drops in concentration and intensity.
"I thought we had the upper hand there for about 36 minutes then just let off for three minutes and they scored two tries," Rhodes said.