WHEN Bathurst Panthers and Orange Hawks met in the opening round of this year’s Group 10 premier league season it was a clash between two teams bursting with potential.
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This Sunday, when the clubs meet again at Wade Park, they play as two of the competition’s heavyweight teams.
Hawks have dropped just a single game this year and Panthers have only tasted defeat twice.
Those results make this a first versus third contest.
Given that first Hawks-Panthers clash at Carrington Park was a 30-all draw this Sunday’s next game in Orange is one that shouldn’t be missed.
Panthers produced scintillating football to recover from a 30-6 deficit in the opening round thriller.
It’s that brand of rugby league Panthers player-coach Doug Hewitt would love to see for a full 80 minutes.
“We got caught off guard in that first game against them and we really had to work hard to match it with them. At this point of the season they’re looking like one of the teams to beat,” he said.
“They’re definitely not out of our reach. We’ve matched it with them, and even did so before the season.
“I think the boys go into this knowing it’s going to be a very evenly-matched game.”
Prior to the week away Panthers picked up an unconvincing win over the Blayney Bears.
We got caught off guard in that first game against them and we really had to work hard to match it with them.
- Doug Hewitt
An under-strength Panthers came back from a 14-4 deficit to claim a 20-14 victory.
The long weekend bye has helped several key Panthers personnel recover in time for the two blues encounter.
Both Jye and Kade Barrow comes back into the Bathurst ranks, as does Blake Seager.
Hewitt hopes the bye has helped his squad regain some focus.
“We did have about five or six blokes out but in games like that people need to step up. The blokes in those positions need to show where they’re at,” he said.
“We’ll take those two points, even though it wasn’t pretty, and we’re going to have to be a lot better than that this weekend.
“There’s been a couple of ups and a couple of downs for us this season. In those ups we’ve seen how well all the boys have stuck together.
“Our camaraderie and the way we turn up for each other in defence is what has kept us in a lot of our games, where teams probably should have put a couple of extra points on us.”
Blake Lawson remains out with injury but is expected to return in a fortnight’s time after the Panthers’ second team bye.
Premier league at Wade Park kicks off from 2.45pm.