IT was not the extension of their Group 10 premier league derby dominance Bathurst Panthers had hoped for, yet there was still one very big positive for the men and black to come out of Saturday's 16-14 loss to St Pat's.
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It was the return of hooker Nick Loader.
The talented number nine started the season in brilliant fashion for Panthers and was selected in the Group 10 representative side which upset Group 11 in May.
Loader had to be carried off five minutes into that representative match with a leg injury - one which initially had some fearing it could end his season.
But it wasn't as bad as first thought - it was a small fracture in his ankle - and Loader made his return off the bench against the Saints.
He set up a first half try for Jake Betts, was busy in attack and got through plenty of work in defence.
"It was his first game back since he got hurt in that Group 10 game," Panthers manager Danny Dwyer said.
"He got through 60 minutes after Ben Gunn started, which was a really positive sign. He hasn't trained or done anything since that Group 10 game, so he's done well to get through that 60 minutes."
Though Loader's return was a good one, Panthers had two members of their pack in second rower Abel Lefaoseu and prop Dave Sellers unable to play out the match after sustaining injuries.
That certainly impacted Panthers in the final 20 minutes when they only had two on the bench, but Dwyer gave credit to Pat's for their effort.
"They completed very well, early in the game they were probably completing at about 90 percent which made it very difficult for us to try and get any momentum off the back of that," he said.
"I though at half-time we were still there with a chance to win, but their defence was good and we were probably a little bit one-out and they easily defended on it.
"It was a good finish and it could've gone either way in the end, it was just one of those games. Pat's just played very, very well and probably deserved the win.
"I think we'll bet better for the run and later in the year when we get a few players back from injury and suspension we'll be better for it. It would have been nice to get a victory, but I think they played pretty solid."
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