ONE rampaging Riley is hard enough to deal with but what about two?
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Bathurst Panthers duo Riley Carter and Riley Hall were critical in helping their side to a hard-fought 22-18 win over St Pat's in their under 11s Group 10 Junior Rugby League match at Carrington Park on Saturday.
Both Carter and Hall were dangerous throughout, making good metres, directing their team-mates, scoring three tries between themselves and assisting in others.
The win keeps Panthers on top of the ladder, but they had to work hard to hold off the Saints.
The only try of the opening half came with just one minute, 14 seconds gone as Carter sliced through the Saints defence.
But there were certainly more chances. Carter was denied a second by a good tackle from Saints fullback Ralph Tilley after a nice pass from Hall put him into space.
Saints hooker Ben Speering was held up over the line, while it took an excellent covering tackle from Hall to stop halfback Cooper Naylor after he broke away down the left wing.
However, four minutes in the third quarter Naylor put the Saints back on equal terms when he took a quick penalty tap to catch out Panthers' defence. He ran 35 metres to score and converted.
Panthers hit back two minutes later when prop Jack O'Brien steamed over the line following a penalty tap, but on the following set Naylor made it a double as he put both his fend and speed to use.
With just 10 seconds of the quarter left, Hall bounced out of a tackle and scored to give Panthers a 16-12 lead.
It set the scene for a thrilling finish.
Pat's lock Angus O'Shannessy came close as he found space on the right wing, but under pressure from Panthers' cover defence knocked-on as he tried to ground the ball.
Carter scored his second with just over six minutes left on the clock and Rory Elphick converted to see Panthers' lead out to 22-12.
Then, with 2:23 left on the clock, a brilliant solo effort from Archie Elliott and Max Condon's goal which followed had the Saints back in touch at 22-18.
But time ran out and Panthers held on.
