HE is tall, he is fast, he is evasive and he knows how to finish - Bathurst Panthers under 14s fullback Charlie Fischbeck showcased his substantial skillset on Friday night.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Fischbeck scored three tries and set up another at Jack Arrow Oval to help his Panthers to a 32-12 Group 10 Junior Rugby League win over a spirited St Pat's outfit.
The Saints, who had lost 60-0 to Panthers earlier in the season, actually held the lead at one stage in the first half.
But Fischbeck's moments of class killed off any hopes of an upset and helped Panthers climb into third on the ladder.
The game was only three minutes old when Panthers scored the first of their six tries for the match, Kallum Simpson stepping his way over after a nice Charlie Oates ball gave him room to move.
But the Saints did not take long to come up with a reply when a Bailey Crawford kick bounced favourably, Jackson Grant chasing through to score.
From the kick-off Beau Osborne saw a gap down the left edge and attacked. He made 20 metres but was then put into touch by Panthers' cover defence.
The following set Panthers put the ball through hands to create and overlap which saw Riley Lane score.
That gave Panthers back the lead and in the 10 minutes before half-time it was a lead which grew thanks in large part to Fischbeck.
His line break helped set up a try for Oates then on the following set, he charged onto the ball with an angled run which opened up the Saints defence to score himself.
Fischbeck then converted to make it 20-6 at half-time.
The fullback went on to score two more tries in the second half, the first coming after a bustling Ethan Potts run, the second following a line drop-out.
However, it was not all one-way traffic as the underdog Saints showed plenty of grit against their rivals.
Props Alexander Katoa and Zane Campbell charged hard all game, Campbell often taking multiple carries in a set.
Campbell was rewarded for his efforts with a try eight minutes from full-time.
Crawford, who did his best to steer the Saints around, converted both of his side's tries.
BATHURST PANTHERS 32 (Charlie Fischbeck 3, Kallum Simpson, Riley Lane, Charlie Oates tries; Charlie Fischbeck 2, Charlie Oates, Riley Lane goals) defeated ST PAT'S 12 (Jackson Grant, Zane Campbell tries; Bailey Crawford 2 goals)
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.westernadvocate.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News