Group 10: Bathurst Panthers must better Orange CYMS to retain top spot

But that moment when he felt pain and dread about what a serious injury would mean for his football and work commitments is long gone. Loader is back in black.

"I just got caught underneath in a tackle and then someone's body weight went on it. I thought the worst straight away ... I knew I'd done something bad when it happened because I heard something," the Bathurst Panthers hooker said of the incident in the Group 10 versus Group 11 match.

"I probably made it look a lot worse than it was in the end. When we were first looking at it on the sideline and they were saying that it might be the Achilles, that's when it sort of hit me that it could be something major, when say stuff like that you start to worry about work.

"But I ended up getting some pretty good news in the end. I ended up having a break in my foot down below the ankle, but it wasn't too bad because it was a bone that isn't actually weight bearing. I wasn't in plaster or on crutches, I just had a moon boot on it for four weeks.

"The main drama was just all the ligaments ended up being so tight because it obviously went the wrong way. It's taken them longer to heal that what the bone did."

While relieved that the injury was not as bad as he first feared, Loader did feel the frustration of then watching his beloved Panthers continue their Group 10 premiers league bid from the sidelines for more than a month.

Even when he returned last Saturday there was more frustration as the Panthers suffered their first loss to St Pat's since 2015, going down 16-14 in a tense local derby at Carrington Park.

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"It definitely hurt the pride a lot, for me personally it was the first time I'd lost to them in first grade from 11 goes, so it definitely hurt the pride more than any other game does," Loader said.

"But it was tough watching, so it's good to get back out there."

Though the result in that match what not what Loader and his Panthers were hoping for, the talented number nine is not dwelling on the result.

Instead he's looking at the positives - he got through his return match okay and Panthers are still on top of the premier league ladder.

"It's [leg] fine, it was a little bit tender towards the end of the game but nothing major, I got all the scans done and it's healed up good," he said.

"It all worked alright, I've just got to get some kays back into the legs and get back into it."

This Sunday Panthers travel to Wade Park to take on Orange CYMS, a team which will replace them in first should they get the better of the men in black.

Loader admits Panthers have not been at their best and CYMS - who his side beat 34-14 in round two - are a tough opponent.

But he has faith he and his team-mates can rediscover their winning touch after dropping two of their last three games.

"We haven't been playing great for the last month or so and we have no excuses really, we've had the team out there to do it but we're just not executing at the moment," Loader said.

"That's happens, we're only midway through the season and you'd rather being doing it now than at the end of the year. We know that we can fix it, we know that we're good enough and will sort it out.

"I think everyone needed a couple of hard games and those couple of losses, no-one wants to lose, but I think that's what we needed to get everyone's mind back on the job and back to training.

"CYMS they're a good side obviously with Daniel Mortimer there and they've got a big forward pack as well, but we know what expect against them. We'll be right."

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