BATHURST Panthers piled on the first half points to help them claim a 35-24 win over the Cowra Magpies in their Group 10 premier league match at Carrington Park on Sunday.
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After blasting out to a 28-4 half-time lead the Panthers allowed the Magpies to find their way back into the match but the hosts had already done enough damage to secure the result.
Six different try scorers found their way onto the score sheet for the Panthers as they kept the Group 10 minor premiership race with Orange CYMS alive.
“I think we completed all but two sets in that first half. It was a pretty flawless half but to let them back in towards the end there was a bit disappointing,” Panthers player-coach Todd Barrow said.
“We got the win though so we’ll take it.
"We’ve got two weeks off now so that’s plenty of time to get things right.”
Panthers showed their intent early on with tries to Greg Behan and Leigh Monaghan inside the opening 11 minutes.
Zac Browne scooped up a loose ball from an offload to briefly bring the score back to 12-4 before Panthers responded immediately through a Blake Lawson try.
Missed tackles crippled the Magpies as Panthers made easy metres for the remaining 20 minutes of the opening half.
Trent Hotham scored from close range and Jye Barrow’s try from a short side play left the Magpies with a mountain to climb in the second half.
However, the Magpies showed it was a trek they were willing to take on when lock Warren Williams scored within the first four minutes of the new period.
On the Panthers’ next possession a Claude Gordon try took the hosts out to a 34-8 lead.
Magpies began to build up some momentum after the hour mark and kept Panthers on their toes thanks to tries from their halves combination Cody Brooks and Cameron Bruest.
Jeremy Gordon’s field goal inside the last two minutes helped eat some of the clock up for the Panthers but Magpies still found a post-siren try through Callum Clyburn.
“I think ‘Shifty’ [Nick Loader], our hooker, was really good today. Jake Betts was good as always and so was Seages [Brent Seager] up the middle," Barrow said.
“In that first half I think we all played pretty well and special mention to Trent Hotham and Claude [Gordon], our halves.
“That first half was probably the best game of footy I’ve seen them play. That’s one big positive to take out of this game."
Panthers now have the bye followed by a trip to Mudgee to round out their regular season.
