YOU won’t see this very often.
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In Bathurst rugby league there are few concepts more diametrically opposed than the idea of Dave Elvy wearing a St Pat’s jersey.
The Panthers captain-coach will be the toast of Jack Arrow Oval tomorrow when he parades around the home of the blue and whites wearing one of their coveted jerseys.
Elvy will don a jersey from the 2001 St Pat’s Group 10 premiership winning side prior to his team’s minor semi-final with St Pat’s for a spot in the final three in the premier league competition.
It comes as a result of a lost bet against friend and occasional work associate Luke Bennett, who frequents Trade Link through his plumbing business.
Bennett is a born and bred St Pat’s man and was a member of the 2001 premiership side, playing in the front row.
“I see Luke a fair bit through work, he often comes and and has a chat and we arranged a bet earlier in the year where I basically said that whoever lost the local derby between Pat’s and Panthers had to wear the other team’s jersey if the sides met again,” Elvy explained.
“That came around after they beat us, so I thought I’d be good and keep my word.”
Bennett is so keen to lap up the occasion that he even had the jersey especially embroidered with Elvy’s name on the left side of the chest.
“This whole thing has backfired on me a little bit hasn’t it?” Elvy said.
“I had a similar bet a few years ago with someone else that I won but they never came good. I was pretty confident I could win again, but we went out and got smashed!”
Bennett ribbed his friend, saying that he intended to make Elvy complete a lap of honour in the jersey either before or after the main game tomorrow afternoon.
Elvy retorted in kind, pointing to the empty feeling it would leave if his last game in a Panthers
jersey was to end in a loss against fierce rivals St Pat’s.
“It will be a pretty good lap of honour when we win I can tell you,” he said.
“Given that I’m retiring from Panthers at the end of the year, it would be a sad way to go out if we were to lose to them.
“We [Panthers] had a barbecue the other night and when I told the boys what I was going to be wearing they urged me not to do it, but I thought I should honour the bet.”
