Bathurst Panthers take down Nyngan Tigers in Peter McDonald Premiership elimination final

It was by no means a perfect showing from the Bathurst Panthers on Sunday but the best of their playmaking ability was on show during the first half of their 32-12 Peter McDonald Premiership elimination final victory over the Nyngan Tigers at Carrington Park.

Panthers scored 26 of their 32 points during a red hot opening 40 minutes of action, where the Tigers didn't have any answers for the creativity of Bathurst halves pairing Doug Hewitt and Joey Bugg.

Winger Haydn Edwards scored a brace for the Panthers in his PMP finals debut and handled the goal kicking duties respectably in the absence of injured fullback Josh Rivett.

Hewitt, who was at his electric best in the opening stanza, credited regular halves player Nick Tilburg for a strong performance in the fullback role.

"That first half was amazing, and it was where we were doing everything that we said that we'd have to do at training - that was complete, kick to the corners and play fast footy," he said.

"We're not a big side but we're very mobile. If we can keep teams playing our style of footy then we can go a long way in the comp.

"Those tries come of a bit confidence, things going away and getting to play off the back of it. That comes from the middles laying the platform and getting those quick play-the-balls, and that invites me and Buggy into the game.

"Then there was 'Ice' [Tilburg] out the back, and we thought it might have been a bit of a struggle for him there but he filled that hole well and didn't skip a beat all game."

For Tigers player-coach James Tuitahi it was a disappointing way to end the season but it was a year that showed plenty of promise for the club.

"We just started a bit slow, which has been a bit of a pattern for us, and that just comes down to preparation,"

"As a club we're happy that most of ours boys made it to finals footy, and everything after that is a bonus. We'll just keep building for next year."

Nyngan started the stronger side and enjoyed several repeat sets on the Panthers' line but couldn't make the most of it - something they'd come to quickly regret.

Riley Cheshire opened the Panthers' account in the 11th minute when he crashed over to the left of the uprights.

After Panthers were denied a try due to shepherd it didn't take them long to write that wrong when a Nyngan error allowed Edwards to find the first of his tries, and his conversion took the hosts out to a 12-0 lead.

A Hewitt dummy and step inside allowed him the space he needed to score on the right edge.

In the best team try of the day Tieryn Toomey-White found an excellent offload to Hewitt just before hitting the deck, then the halfback found Edwards in support to finish off the play.

The scoreless run for Nyngan was broken in the 34th minute thanks to a Josh Merritt try but the joy was short lived as Panthers' Dillion Adrole strolled across for a try on the left wing three minutes before the break.

Tempers began to flare as play broke down in the second half and fatigue crept into both camps.

It was an end-to-end 40 minutes of play, through a large mixture of penalties, errors and line breaks for both clubs.

But despite the multiple scoring opportunities for each side a try to Panthers player-coach Jake Betts and a try to Tigers' Matty McDougall would be the only further impacts on the scoreboard.

The half wasn't an amazing showing from either side with the ball in hand but it was a solid display of the try line defence capabilities for each club.

It's a factor of their game that the Panthers will look to continue when they take on Orange Hawks in next weekend's semi-final.

BATHURST PANTHERS 32 (Haydn Edwards 2, Riley Cheshire, Doug Hewitt, Dillion Adrole, Jake Betts tries; Edwards 4 conversions) defeated NYNGAN TIGERS 12 (Josh Merritt, Tuiloma Atuau tries; Mason Williams, Matty McDougall conversions)

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