Photo: Bathurst Panthers Facebook
Tallon Smith
Bathurst Panthers have consolidated their position inside the Peter McDonald Premiership top eight with two rounds to play after overcoming an early 12-0 deficit to record a 28-12 win over Lithgow Workies at Carrington Park on Saturday afternoon.
Winger Haydn Edwards finished with a hat-trick of tries, comprising half of the Panthers’ total in the six tries to two wins, which puts the side a game and a half clear of ninth-placed Nyngan a fortnight out from the start of finals.
Panthers coach Jake Betts said while strengthening their grip on eighth place was a “relief”, the side will need to improve if it wants to be a contender in the postseason.
“We’ve still got a lot of work to do if we want to be competitive in the finals,” he said.
“We’ve dropped a few games we probably shouldn’t have, we have been very inconsistent, but a couple of rounds to go to try and get a bit of form and I guess, the old cliche, once finals starts it’s a whole new competition.
“We’ll just see what happens if we can hold onto eighth spot.”
Lithgow started the better of the two sides, crossing twice in the opening seven minutes through Luke Brown and Kyle Willmott.
The Panthers finally responded leading into the half time break, with Paora Kemp crossing off a Joe Bugg grubber.
The Bathurst side then went on to dominate the second stanza, running in five tries, with Blake Lawson and Hudson White crossing the line in addition to three-try hero Edwards.
Betts said he was happy to see Edwards rewarded on the scoresheet for a strong performance in all areas of the game.
“I was really pleased to see Haydn get the three tries, and away from that he was very good off the footy and coming out of trouble,” he said.
“He’s a good young kid and he’s a local junior.
“He stepped away from the game at the start of the year and just wasn’t enjoying it, so he came back and I was really pleased to see him get a hat-trick and get recognised for that too.”
In other results from around the competition, the Dubbo Macquarie Raiders and Orange Hawks took victories in their respective cross-town showdowns, with the Raiders getting the better of Dubbo CYMS 20-18, while the Hawks downed Orange CYMS 22-18.
Competition leaders Mudgee Dragons continued their strong form with a 34-8 win over Bathurst St Pats, while Parkes picked up its third victory of the season 26-22 over Lithgow, and Forbes defeated Wellington 62-0.
Woodbridge Wrap: Manildra and Oberon continue winning ways
John Fitzgerald
Round 10 of the Woodbridge Cup competition resulted in good wins to joint leaders Oberon and Manildra.
Oberon took down Eugowra 48-14 while Manildra retained their equal first place on the ladder with a 38-14 win over Canowindra.
The competition’s danger side Trundle had a 34-26 win over Cargo to maintain their position one point behind the leaders.
The second-last premiership round threw up no other surprises, Blayney defeating Orange United 36-28, Cowra overwhelming Grenfell 54-28, and Molong beating Peak Hill 40-32.
The competition goes into the final round with no match-up games of interest affecting any of the eight top sides.
