IT took until the final 10 seconds for Bathurst Panthers to kill off the hopes of Cowra when they first met this season, so the men in black are expecting another stern test from their Group 10 premier league rivals this Sunday.
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Panthers will host a Cowra side which is out of finals contention but keen to find some redemption for their 30-24 defeat in round seven.
“It was very fortunate for us to win when we played that game up in Cowra, we only just won right on full-time, Jed Betts scored with 10 seconds to go,” Panthers manager Danny Dwyer said.
“We struggled that whole game, it was pretty dour and they didn’t play too expansive.
“We were pretty lucky to win that game to be honest … they certainly played well enough to win.”
Since that game Panthers have gone on to cement themselves a spot in this year’s finals series. They currently sit second on the ladder, but just where they will end up after the regular home and away rounds is still an uncertainty.
Panthers will sit out the penultimate round with a bye and unlike other clubs, they do not have any catch-up games to schedule.
“We played Blayney on the Saturday night and all those games on the Sunday were washed-out. I am not sure what is going to happen with those catch-up games, but some teams do have that extra game to play,” Dwyer said.
“We are on 23 points and we need to pick up the remaining six and that would put us on 29, but even then I think Pat’s [21] can still finish above us.
“To be where we are is certainly a positive, but the challenge for the rest of the year now is to not drop anymore games and maintain that position.
“A home semi-final would be nice.”
If Panthers want that home semi-final, beating Cowra on Sunday is a must.
In order to do that, the men in black must contain a handy Cowra forward pack and enigmatic five-eighth Warren Williams.
“He’s [Williams] almost unstoppable if he gets the ball 20 metres out. He’s certainly a match winner and we will have to keep our eye on him,” Dwyer said.
“He can just run over the top of guys if he gets that momentum.
“But we have got Brent Seager [prop] back for this game and his running game is a big difference in the middle. Seags has a lot of pressure on him, but to have him back in the side is bonus because he’s a real worker.”
Seager’s return is the only likely change to the Panthers side which beat Lithgow 26-14 last Sunday.
Sunday’s match at Carrington Park will kick-off at 2pm.
