RUGBY LEAGUE
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THERE were a lot of player movements to and from Bathurst Panthers over the off-season and as always, some new faces tend to sneak under the radar more than others.
With a new captain-coach in Todd Barrow, a speedster in Group 10 representative Sandon Gibbs-O’Neill and another eye-catching fullback in the shape of Bradyn Cassidy, the acquisition of back rower Max Wolfson didn’t have as much fanfare.
Add to that the ongoing problem of trying to get Fijian international Osea Sadrau back into the country and the departure of Matt and Trent Rose, and it was easy to forget Panthers had picked up the hard working forward.
However, as the season has progressed Wolfson’s presence is being felt more and more. Last Sunday’s win over Oberon saw the former Orange Hawk produce his best effort since joining the club.
Wolfson had a bigger workload than normal as the key trio of Greg Behan, Brent Seager and Jake Betts all spent more minutes off the field than they would in a normal game.
With right-side second rower Blake Lawson off the field injured after just five minutes, Wolfson was put under more pressure than he had been in his previous five games this season.
He responded strongly with some good metres and he lifted at the times his team needed it most.
Tomorrow his job gets harder again when Panthers head to Lithgow to face the competition leaders.
“We definitely have to lift from how we played against Oberon, they have a huge pack and we’re going to have to grind it out big time,” Wolfson said.
“I know that Seags and Greg will match it with them up front, so it is up to myself and whoever else is in the second row, whether it is Todd Barrow or Jed Betts or whoever, to try and do a job on the edges. Their middle is very strong.
“It will be a big ask.”
Wolfson played all his junior football with Orange clubs Bloomfield and Hawks. He was at Hawks during Barrow’s stint as skipper, though he was only a junior at the time.
When he got the call from Barrow to see if he was interested in a switch this season, he didn’t hesitate to take the chance.
“Having played all my footy since under 11s basically at one club, I was keen to try something new, and knowing about Todd and the amount of respect he had at Hawks was certainly a factor,” Wolfson said.
“It has been a really good change so far. The senior boys in the team are very easy to look up to and the committee members and staff are all good people who look after you.
“I think as far as our footy goes, we’ve started to turn it around since we beat Mudgee. The Orange CYMS game we probably should have won and that would have boosted us even more.
“Definitely since Jeremy Gordon came into the side we are very organised and playing much better football.”
Wolfson doesn’t take a fancy approach to his football but seems to have a perfect understanding of what his team requires from him each week.
He will need to continue it tomorrow if he is to taste victory against the resurgent Lithgow side, who are dominating on the back of their massive pack and the influence of Jono and Brendan Van Veen.
“It can be hard to have too much of an impact with the ball when Seags and Greg get through so much work and just dominate. I’m definitely not going to tell either of them to get out of the way and take the run instead,” he said.
“I just try and do what I have to when it is needed and really I’m more of a defensive second rower and try and keep a high work rate and shut down the big guys on the other side.”
BATHURST PANTHERS: 1 Sandon Gibbs-O’Neill, 2 Jay McClintock, 3 Blake Lawson, 4 Chris Shephard, 5 Josh Small, 6 Jeremy Gordon, 7 Joey Bugg, 8 Brent Seager, 9 Luke Carpenter, 10 Greg Behan, 11 Max Wolfson, 12 Todd Barrow, 13 Jake Betts.