BATHURST’S annual NRL fixture will return to the early part of the season after three years of dates deeper in the competition.
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The Penrith Panthers will play at Carrington Park at 7.30pm in round three on Saturday, March 30 next year, the club confirmed on Friday, though it is not yet known who the side’s opponents will be.
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The opponents will be revealed next week as part of the official release of the 2019 NRL draw.
A record crowd of more than 10,000 watched Johnathan Thurston’s North Queensland Cowboys defeat the Panthers 26-20 in early May this year.
It was the fifth game in the Panthers’ long-term deal to play a match at Bathurst each year, which was extended in 2017 until at least 2028.
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Member for Bathurst Paul Toole said the NSW Government was providing $200,000 to help bring NRL matches to four regional centres in 2019, including Bathurst.
Panthers Group CEO Brian Fletcher, meanwhile, said Panthers was proud of the strong relationship it has built with Bathurst Regional Council and the community.
Playing another March game could yet prove a gamble for the Panthers, who drew the smallest crowd – around 6000 – of their Bathurst games when they played the Gold Coast Titans at Carrington Park in March 2015.
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