HOW early is too early?
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That’s the first question that comes to mind after the announcement of the date for next year’s Penrith Panthers match in Bathurst.
Crowds for the NRL club’s fixtures have waxed and waned over the five years of the deal so far, but the poorest turnout was in the second year when the Panthers played in March against the Gold Coast Titans.
READ ALSO:
Just over 6000 people turned up to see the Titans thumped 40-0 in 2015 in the first few weeks of the Central Tablelands autumn – a far cry from the more than 10,000 that attended the game against the North Queensland Cowboys in May this year.
Of course, the lack of a big-name opposition in 2015 would have affected the numbers, but there was also speculation in the aftermath of that game that the people of Bathurst and surrounds had simply not yet started thinking about football.
Since that Titans game, we’ve had Panthers matches in late April (Canberra Raiders), June (Canberra Raiders) and May (the Cowboys this year).
And now we’re back to March again – March 30, to be exact, in what will be the third round of the competition.
Some will say the time of year and the profile of the opposition for this game shouldn’t matter, but the history of the fixture, with the crowd falling or rising by thousands from year to year, clearly shows that it does.
This newspaper has argued in the past that Bathurstians should use this game or lose it, but there is no doubt that the right mix of ingredients gives a much stronger chance of the game’s success.
(And the long-term deal signed last year to bring the Panthers to town until 2028 has ended any danger that the arrangement will be abandoned because of a couple of poor years.)
So with the March date locked in, we’ll be watching with interest to see which side is drawn to play the Panthers at Bathurst.
If it’s another lower profile side with a lesser following, Bathurst Regional Council will have a bit of work ahead of it when it comes to promoting the game.
If Bathurst can jag a stronger side, though, then that March date might not prove such a hurdle to overcome.
We’ve had the Cronulla Sharks, the Titans, the Raiders and the Cowboys over the life of this deal so far.
What are the chances that we get a new side to add to our collection?