THIS weekend marks six years since Bathurst Panthers last hosted a reunion and it is fair to say the men in black are in a vastly different situation now than they were when they faced Cowra at Carrington Park in July, 2010.
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That day they sat on the bottom of the Group 10 premier league ladder, were winless after six rounds and made it seven losses on the trot when the Magpies beat them 38-26.
On Saturday Panthers will again commemorate the past as the club stages a reunion for the 1994 and 1997 Bathurst Penguins title-winning sides.
They will mark the event by facing Blayney – who didn’t even have a team in the competition in 2010 – in a much better predicament. Panthers sit third on the ladder and only marginally behind frontrunners Oberon and St Pat’s.
One of only three players who took on Cowra that day six years ago who will be in action on Saturday is Trent Hotham, who will continue to start at halfback.
“A lot has changed since then, we have had a few seasons where we picked young players and stuck with them and it is starting to pay off,” Hotham said.
“Players like Blake Lawson and Jake Betts have started to stamp a bit of authority on the competition ... and now having players like Jeremy Gordon back in the team – he’s a freak – have made us a pretty good side.”
Saturday’s match kicks off at 6.15pm, with the action to get underway at 2.15pm.
