SHARP hands, line breaks, strong fends, fancy footwork and speed - they were all on display as the under 10 Bathurst Panthers posted a 50-24 win over Wallerawang Warriors in their Group 10 Junior Rugby League match on Saturday.
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The Panthers took the lead in the third minute at Carrington Park from there did not look back as they ran in nine tries for the match.
It was Jackson Fischbeck who scored the opener, finding space down the right wing after a nice string of passes from his team-mates.
Charlie Wilde then showed a piece of individual skill as he caught a Warriors kick on his own line and ran the length of he field to score.
Try three was another length of the field counter-attacking effort as Panthers marked another Warriors kick and spread the ball to halfback Charlie Higgins. He then stepped his way through the Wallerawang defence and sprinted down the wing.
While trailing 18-0 the Warriors did not give up.
Macauley Desch, who was a standout for the visitors and finished the match with three tries, got the Warriors in great attacking position with a strong run early in the second quarter. Two tackles later he was over.
Panthers responded as Harrison Lee charged over from a penalty tap then Max Higgins broke clear from deep in his half for another long range effort.
With 76 seconds left on the clock before half-time Warriors' Dylan Reeve, who had made a number of strong runs, muscled his way over the line. He converted to make it 28-10.
When Desch crossed for his second one minute after play resumed, the Warriors had a sniff at 28-14. But that is as close as they got.
A 40-metre effort from Ryan Copeland as he scooped up the ball after a Wallerawang knock-on then a brilliant stepping run from Max Higgins helped Panthers to a 40-20 lead with a quarter remaining.
It took just 45 seconds into that final quarter for Panthers to score again, Illai Mapapalagi drifting wide and fending off a number of defenders on his way to scoring.
Liliana Shehata also showed a nice fend with four minutes left on the clock - it left two Warriors players on the deck - to score in the left corner and see Panthers hit the 50-point mark.
