Both teams were without key players and the Panthers elected to recruit a couple of former Panther’s Best and Fairest players in Grant Dunn and Damian Byrne to boost their stocks. They were joined by former player Karl Buckland and 15 year old Ryan Dunn for his first game.

There was a sense of optimism as the Women’s side had just smashed Cowra in cold and wet conditions and they cheered on as the Men’s team  took the field. Captain Brent Tucker won the toss and elected to kick to the Harvey Norman Furniture end of Northparkes Oval with the aid of a good breeze.

The Panthers started brilliantly with Isaac “I can jump” Bunge, and Mitch Stubberfield dominating in the middle which led to a record 36 inside 50’s in the first quarter, unfortunately the forwards were a bit wasteful and slammed on seven points, before Isaac “I can kick” Bunge, decided that enough was enough, to stroll down and slot a long goal. Although blessed with a little less speed than his cousin Usain, Leroy Bolt proved a handful for the Outlaw backs and kicked truly to give the Panthers a lead of 20 at quarter time. Damian Byrne and Peter Webb directed play from the back and helped the Panthers keep the Outlaws scoreless  for the quarter.

The second quarter starter was a bit tighter contest, with the Outlaws kicking with the breeze. Bunge’s ruck opponent Harry Bowden was winning a few knockouts but the Panthers midfield in Stubberfield, and Jason McKinnon were well on top. The Panthers were able to increase their lead in this quarter with goals to Tucker, Webb and a superb snap from Veteran Grant “Sid” Dunn after grabbing the crumbs off the pack. The Outlaws did get one back when defender Nathanial Dixon was pushed under the ball by his opponent, who then grabbed the mark, played on and slotted the goal. Although “Dicko” was not happy that the umpire missing  the “hands in the back”, I am sure there were plenty of other indiscretions by Dixon that went unnoticed on the night.

At half time the Panthers led comfortably, 45 to the Outlaws 15. This was the fourth time the Panthers had led at half time this season, the other three games had seen the Panthers run out of legs and lose. The supporters were a bit concerned about the old stagers in the team running out of puff and another disappointing loss would be a tough pill to swallow. Fortunately on Saturday the Panthers had plenty of youth on their side as well. Nic Tossetti, Jack Ford, Alex Warren and Ryan Dunn kept running all night and inspired their older team mates to dig deep. Players such as James Knappett, Tim Barber, Zac Bayliss and Brad Wales  never gave their opponents any peace. Now that Evan “OPSM” Ralph could actually see the footy, he was also back to his best.

The third quarter went according to plan with the Panthers completely mauling their Bathurst opponents as they slammed on goals through Bunge, Stubberfield and  Stuey Robbins, who following a number of missed chances was able to mark and goal. Another four goals and ten behinds in the last quarter by the Panthers blew out the winning margin to 70 points. There were a number of  highlights including Ryan Dunn’s first goal for the Panthers, having proved a handful for the Outlaws all night. His old man “Sid” tried to kick a few more goals but started to tire and just added a few more behinds. On one occasion, he  could have given off a handball to the unmarked Craig Chapple, but chose to kick it himself. Craig was not a “Happy Chappie”. Jonty Ralph sealed the deal on full time, with a mark in the Whites Electrical forward pocket and then a nice drop punt from a tight angle.

The final score was Panthers 12 – 27 – 99  defeated Bathurst Outlaws 4 – 5 – 29

Goalkickers: Brent Tucker, Mitch Stubberfield and Isaac Bunge 2 each , Leroy Bolt, Grant Dunn, Stuey Robbins, Peter Webb, Ryan Dunn and Jonty Ralph 1 each.

The Railway Hotel Best Player, went to Isaac Bunge, who inspired his team mates all game with his fierce attack on the ball.