It was Betts who slotted into the hooker's role for Group 10 on Saturday after Loader went down injured in the fourth minute with what was later revealed to be a small fracture in his ankle.

Betts went on to be named man of the match in a game which saw Group 10 post an upset 20-6 win over Group 11.

When Betts was announced as best on ground for his performance it came as a surprise to him, turning to his Group 10 team-mate and fellow Bathurst Panther Keelan Bresac and saying "Mate you were robbed."

"I think Keelan Bresac should have won that easy."

Bresac did have an outstanding game at centre at Lithgow's Tony Luchetti Sportsground, making good metres in attack for Group 10, but Betts' performance was hard to fault.

He arrived at Lithgow as Group 10's starting lock, but found himself switched to hooker after just four minutes following Loader's injury.

It was not the first time Betts had been given the job as rake and revealed he even spent time during Group 10 training in that spot.

But Betts admitted the task of playing an almost entire game as hooker against Group 11 was tough. While he's already a player known for his work-rate, his tackle count in the representative fixture was massive.

"I played a lot of it back in juniors but I haven't played there for awhile, it's tough in the middle," Betts said.

"It was terrible to see Nick go down, it was hard to watch, it looked like he was in a lot of pain.

"I did a bit of training on Wednesday at hooker so I thought I knew what was coming, but you never expect it like that. It was tough."

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Toughness was something the entire Group 10 squad, which included seven Bathurst Panthers, showed as they got through a mountain of defence.

After Group 10 opened up a 14-6 lead, Group 11 pressured hard to crack their Western foes and more than once enjoyed multiple sets camped on their rivals' line.

But Group 10 held them out. It was an effort Betts was extremely proud of.

"We had every right to just throw the towel in there for a while when they had four or five sets on us, but everyone just kept turning up and working for each other, which is unusual for a side that doesn't usually play together week-in, week-out," he said.

"That was really encouraging. There definitely was a lot of talent there, but in some of these sides there is talent and you just don't gel. It was not so much surprising, it was more encouraging.

"There wasn't a bad player on the field from Group 11 or Group 10 and it was good to see all the Panthers boys put their hand up. Jezza [Gordon] is playing like an 18-year-old kid again, he's unbelievable, that try was great to see."

Loader is currently wearing a moon boot and while it will be a frustration for him to be sidelined, that the injury is not as serious as initially thought is good news.

His Panthers side, which is the only undefeated outfit in Group 10's premier league competition, host Lithgow in round five action this weekend.

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