In short, they looked gone for all money. 

But, as the best sides do, CYMS found a way to win and it took a magical last-gasp passage of play to do so, which started with fullback Ben McAlpine kicking across field from his 20 metre line and finished with five-eighth Dom Maley diving over under the sticks to score.

The try made it 20-20, and McAlpine’s conversion secured the green and golds a stunning come-from-behind win and a home grand final with it.

“I think if anyone was going to do something special to get us home in that one it was always going to be Benny or Dom,” injured CYMS captain-coach Mick Sullivan said.

“It’s a huge boost that we earned that week off again and we can recover well because that game was brutal.

“It’s just about hanging in there, that’s what I put that win down to. I said at half-time, we’re fitter than them and we just needed to hang in there. The boys knew it would hurt, but it was worth it at the end to get the week off and the home grand final, which is huge for the club.

“Panthers threw a lot at us and sure we got a bit of luck there at the end, but we gave ourselves the chance by hanging in there.”

CYMS will host the grand final in a fortnight while Panthers will face the rampant Mudgee Dragons in next week’s preliminary final at Carrington Park.

Panthers captain-coach Todd Barrow vented his frustration after the loss, in particular at the string of ruck penalties his side conceded through the back of end of the game.

“It was something like eight in a row at the end there. In that kind of game with two teams playing tough, tight footy I just can’t figure how we were that much different to them at the ruck,” Barrow said.

“We’ll cop it, we’ll just have to turn up next week. Mudgee are a good side and we’re still alive.

“I can’t fault the boys’ effort, they’re all shattered in [the sheds] and they all want another crack at CYMS.”

Panthers’ discipline – or lack thereof – cost them dearly in the opening stages of the game, the men in black were penalised three times inside the opening nine minutes and CYMS took advantage, shooting out to a 12-0 lead thanks to the piggy-backs.

Ryan Griffin dove on a Tim Mortimer grubber to score the first try of the game in the sixth minute before Todd Murphy flew above his opposite number, latched onto the ball and scored in an effort Israel Folau would’ve been proud of three minutes after that.

McAlpine’s dual conversions gave CYMS a 12-0 lead.

Then came two moments which put CYMS under the pump, shot Panthers into the box seat and, at the time, looked likely to have cost the green and golds a home grand final.

In the 19^th minute Panthers winger Chris Shephard found space and McAlpine dragged him down 10 metres out from the try line, only to be penalised and then sin-binned for holding him down.

Six minutes later CYMS hooker James Wynne was sent-off, after apparently throwing punches in a scuffle with Panthers back-rower Kyle Byrnes – who clearly had directive to get under CYMS’ skin, which he did several times.

“[Byrnes] was obviously out there to get under our skin, but there isn’t too much to say about it really. We’ll fight any charge or suspension and hope Wynney can be there grand final day,” Sullivan said.

Wynne receiving his marching orders left CYMS with 11 men for four minutes and then 12 for the remainder of the game after McAlpine came back on.

Panthers scored either side of the send-off – through Claude Gordon and Jake Betts – to lock things up at 12-12. It stayed that way until after the half-time break, although CYMS held on by a thread in the last exchanges of the opening half.

Panthers scored first after the break, Jeremy Gordon made his side’s one-man advantage count by putting Shepherd over the corner. Gordon’s kick missed, leaving Panthers’ lead at four.

CYMS fought back into the grind and had multiple chances to score but Bathurst’s defence proved up to the challenge. In the 10 minute after Gordon’s try CYMS had six separate attacking sets – back-to-back – on Panthers’ line and couldn’t bust through.

Jerome Harrison went closest, but knocked on over the line in his attempt to reign in a McAlpine grubber.

That period of staunch defence paid off for Panthers, Mitch Davis went over three minutes after Harrison’s knock on.

Gordon missed another conversion attempt, but his side’s 20-12 lead looked to be enough, particularly after CYMS were penalised for being offside from the resulting kick off.

CYMS held them out though and then Panthers – Jed Betts in particular – gave the green and golds a sniff. After a string of penalties on their own line Betts was sin-binned in the 66^th minute.

Maley came alive at that point, and sent Semisi Katoa over to score. McAlpine missed and the scoreline sat at 20-16.

CYMS maintained attacking pressure but twice knocked the ball on close to the line and when they dropped it again in the middle of the paddock three minutes out from full-time, the fat lady looked to have started warming up her vocal cords.

Then Panthers dropped it, although it still required something special to get the green and golds over the line.

Two tackles after the mid-field scrum McAlpine chanced his arm, kicking across field from his own 20 metre line. The bounce was friendly for the chasing Harrison, who shrugged off two would-be tacklers and found Maley on his inside.

CYMS’ five-eighth went 60-odd metres untouched to cross under the sticks, gifting McAlpine the easiest of kicks to win the game and secure a home grand final for the green and golds. 

ORANGE CYMS 22 (Dom Maley, Semisi Katoa, Todd Murphy, Ryan Griffin tries; Ben McAlpine 3 goals) def BATHURST PANTHERS 20 (Claude Gordon, Jake Betts, Chris Shepherd, Mitch Davis tries; Jeremy Gordon 2 goals)