For Bathurst Panthers winger Bradyn Cassidy there’s no doubt last Saturday was a very, very special day.
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His side won, securing one of its most comfortable victories of the Group 10 premier league season, but that was just one part of a much bigger picture.
Panthers sported bright pink jerseys for Saturday’s round 16 clash with the Cowra Magpies in honour of Cassidy’s mother, who passed away from breast cancer last summer, that were auctioned off to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
With that jumper on his back Cassidy crossed for a hat-trick in the 62-16 victory, before that night’s auction raised more than $6,000 for the charity.
“Bradyn Cassidy’s mother died during the off-season … and we held this auction to support the (National) Breast Cancer Foundation,” Panthers secretary Wayne Boyd said.
“We made over $6,200 from the sale of the jumpers and that’s an amazing effort from our players and families.”
The Magpies threw their support behind the jersey auction as well, in the most touching of fashions.
“Cowra bought Bradyn’s jersey for $500 so they could give it back to him,” Boyd said.
“That was a great gesture from the club.”
Cassidy was one of nine different try-scorers for the pink Panthers, incredibly scoring all three of his tries in the first half too.
Cowra bought Bradyn’s jersey for $500 so they could give it back to him. That was a great gesture from the club.
- Panthers secretary Wayne Boyd
Jeremy Gordon, Blake Lawson, Jye Barrow, Kade Barrow, Doug Hewitt, Nick Loader, Blake Seager and Jack Siejka all crossed the line.
The victory, over a Magpies side missing the likes of Warren Williams, Blake Tidswell and Ron Lawrence, gives Panthers a five-point buffer from third-placed Mudgee, ensuring the Bathurst side will host in the first week of semi-finals.
Panthers’ blistering first-half showing set up the win, Boyd explained.
“We were up 12-0 in 12 minutes and at one stage looked like scoring a point a minute, but we fell away a bit in the second half,” he said.
“To Cowra’s credit they kept trying.”
That drop-off is easily forgiven, Boyd said, considering it wasn’t a full-strength Panthers side either.
“We rested a lot of blokes and we were able to give a lot of our younger guys like Jarrod Seager and Jed Betts some valuable time on the field,” he said.
“There were a few balls going to ground and some errors here and there but it was still a really good result for us.”
- BATHURST PANTHERS 62 (Bradyn Cassidy 3, Jeremy Gordon, Blake Lawson, Jye Barrow, Kade Barrow, Doug Hewitt, Nick Loader, Blake Seager, Jack Siejka tries; Jye Barrow 8, Kade Barrow goals) def COWRA MAGPIES 16
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.
