BATHURST Panthers and Orange CYMS added another game to their list of close Group 10 premier league encounters on Sunday when the men in black held on to win 26-20 at Carrington Park.
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Panthers carried a 14 point advantage into half-time before a vastly improved CYMS applied the pressure with a relentless barrage from their forward pack.
The hosts went into survival mode for much for the second term, especially during a period where they were down to 12 men, but their defence proved enough to get them home.
"With one bloke off the field and with them playing unreal footy and throwing everything at us it was a big effort to hold them out," Panthers player-coach Doug Hewitt said.
"That first half was full of what we've been working on. It's become a bit of a habit though to have these good starts and then plateauing through the middle.
"We're still finding ways to win, despite that, which says a lot about the team's character."
The CYMS error count will be the biggest talking point for their player-coach Dom Maley.
"We put our heads down when they scored one try and they ended up putting three on us pretty quickly," Maley said.
"Our completions in that first half were five out of 10. Fifty per cent isn't good enough and that's what cost us. In the second half it was 10 out of 13.
"We've got potential as a side. We've just got to hold the ball. We've come close to them, and Hawks, but we're still finding ourselves in a battle for the top five."
It was CYMS who got on the board first in Sunday's match - their only bright spot in an otherwise forgettable first half.
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Panthers fullback Josh Rivett gambled on a long CYMS running into touch but when he was trapped in goal it led to a goal line drop out.
From the ensuing kick CYMS brought the ball up field and opened the scoring through a converted Ryan Griffin try from dummy half.
Panthers were able to hit back on the next set when a break down the left wing and an offload from Kevin Murray put Louis Murphy over in the corner, making it 6-4.
Both teams weren't afraid to use their width or to throw the ball around, but it led the error count piling up on both ends.
CYMS weren't able to capitalise on a successful one-on-one strip from Chris Grevsmuhl while Murphy and Jake Betts each lost the ball just a metre away from the Orange try line.
Panthers finally made the most of a chance in the 25th minute when they swung the ball out to the right edge to put Mackenzie Atkins across for a try.
Five minutes later the hosts were over again when a short ball allowed Josh Small to skip through the defence for an easy four-pointer.
CYMS became their own enemy on the next set when a play-the-ball penalty - and a booming kick for touch by Doug Hewitt - put the Orange men under pressure once again.
Panthers didn't let the opportunity go to waste as Jed Betts muscled his way across for a converted try next to the uprights, taking Bathurst to a 20-6 half-time lead.
CYMS came out the stronger side in the second half, led by the likes of Cam Jones and Ethan Bereyne, and were rewarded with a much-needed try 10 minutes in.
Panthers didn't learn their lesson from the previous time Griffin was at dummy half, allowing him to dive across from close range again for his second try.
A window of opportunity opened up for CYMS when Willie Wright was sent to the sin bin and they used it well.
Ben McAlpine latched onto the end of a chip kick to score a try, and converted it himself to bring the deficit down to two points.
The margin disappeared with a McAlpine penalty goal inside the final 14 minutes.
When it appeared the CYMS momentum would never cease it finally did at the hands of Murray.
The Panthers centre brought the crowd to life when he barged over for the home side's first try of the half.
When a wright field goal attempt bumped into the right post it kept the Orange men in the match.
Lachie Munro had a last gasp effort inside the final minute of play but he was held up over the line.