It took four rounds but Bathurst Panthers finally have something to celebrate after a 32-12 win over Mudgee yesterday revived their Group 10 premier league fortunes at Carrington Park.

Their new player-coach Todd Barrow didn’t know the words to the victory song, and Aaron Bell was on the receiving end of one of the biggest hits in competition history, but it didn’t detract from what was a clinical performance.

“I didn’t have a clue about the words, but it was a good feeling to hear the song for sure,” Barrow said.

“The first 20 minutes of the game set it up for us and the points began to come later in the match.

“I couldn’t have been happier with our defence, we conceded two tries and both came from kicks, so it shows that our work in the middle of the field was outstanding.”

The signs before the game weren’t good for Mudgee who were without a host of regulars including powerhouse forwards Jack Afamasaga and Demetrius Ainuu.

When their kick-off sailed dead, it was perhaps a sign that the match wasn’t going to go the way they were hoping, though for long periods they kept themselves in touch with the hosts.

Both sides had a couple of half-chances early on before a towering Jeremy Gordon bomb was spilled by Mudgee winger Terry Wood, and from the next set Gordon put Jay McClintock over to score Panthers’ first try.

On the next set Gordon himself was held up over the line as he made his presence felt in his return appearance with the club, having sat out the first three rounds through suspension.

In the 26th minute a high kick from Dragons pivot Jeremy Lang looked to be covered by Panthers’ Chris Shephard but a sensational chase from Nathan Orr saw him arrive at the same time as the ball, and he plucked it from Shephard’s grasp to score his team’s first.

With half-time looming, Panthers back-rower Max Wolfson found himself with the ball on the last tackle and put up a hopeful kick, and a miscommunication between Orr and Lane Simmonds allowed Blake Lawson to put Panthers further in front.

From the restart, Gordon sent another long kick downfield and Wood willed the ball to go dead, but it sat just long enough for a flying Josh Small to reach it and score a spectacular try just before the break.

Panthers led 14-6 at that point and had completed all but two of their sets, and had given away just one penalty.

The second half wasn’t so clinical and the teams traded errors for a few minutes to begin with, and one of them from Small in trying to diffuse a kick led to Lang scoring Mudgee’s second try.

At 14-12 and with the game back in the balance, Panthers kicked clear again with an unconverted try to Sandon Gibbs-O’Neill, followed by a penalty goal to Gordon to make it 20-12.

A defining moment came from Lawson with 23 minutes to play when he smashed Orr as he caught a bomb, and he subsequently dispossessed the custodian and scored his second.

Mudgee tried to hit back and back-row pair Keiran Rankmore and Jeff Wright ironed out Bell with a thunderous hit as they tried to lift their side, Rankmore having been outstanding all game.

It was to no avail though, as Gordon put the icing on the cake with a pinpoint kick to McClintock for a late try to stretch the margin further. 

Panthers props Greg Behan and Brent Seager were simply relentless, while Gordon was the perfect conductor at five-eighth. 

Rankmore and lock Jared Robinson were Mudgee’s best along with Lang whose kicking kept them in the match for long periods.

“It is pretty hard coming over here with seven or eight guys missing from our best side,” Afamasaga said afterwards.

“That’s not to take anything away from Panthers, they played very well the whole way through the game, but it was just a bit of an off-week for us and one we need to move on from.

“When we get our full squad back I think we’ll be fine.”

BATHURST PANTHERS 32 (Blake Lawson 2, Jay McClintock 2, Josh Small, Sandon Gibbs-O’Neill tries; Jeremy Gordon 3, Blake Lawson goals) defeated MUDGEE DRAGONS 12 (Jeremy Lang, Nathan Orr tries; James O’Connell 2 goals)