Sport
9 August, 2024
Reggies left to fly the flag in finals
The Gilgandra Panthers and a merry band of supporters headed west to Cobar on Saturday, August 3 to take on the Roosters in round 14 of Castlereagh Rugby League, the final round of home and away matches for season 2024.
Reggies reserve grade
The Panther reserve grade side got the day off to a flying start in their match when Ned Kelly turned back the clock with a barn-storming run through the centre of the Cobar defence to score under the sticks. Alex Sutherland converted the try. Sutherland then scored a great try which he started and finished next to the posts. He converted his own try to make it 12-0 to the Panthers. Cobar hit back with a converted try just on halftime to go to oranges with the Panthers up 12-6 at the break.
The Panthers built on their lead in the second half with tries to Tim Altmann and Jay Towney whilst Alex Sutherland had a perfect day with the boot slotting all four conversions. Cobar hit back with two second half tries before the bell rang and the Reggies played themselves into the semi-finals next weekend with a 24-16 victory. Alex Sutherland was a standout for the Panthers, while Andrew Prout and Joe Alchin were strong up front, making plenty of metres into the Rooster’s defence all day.
Pink Panthers League Tag
The Pinkies were next to take to the field and they looked to have some scoring chances early in the first half but the home side were able to repel the Pinkies raids and run in three unanswered tries before Rani Diggs got the Pinkies on the board right on half-time. The second half started in perfect fashion for the girls when Wendy Brown touched down in the opening minutes. Rani Diggs converted and the Pinkies were back in the game trailing 14-10 with 15 minutes remaining. The Pinkies threw everything they had at the Henny Pennies in their final minutes of 2024 before Cobar scored to close out the match 20-10 to the home side. Although they lost the match, the Pink Panthers can be pleased with their improved efforts in 2024 under the guidance of Luke Ritchie who has been a great mentor to the girls.
Ahrens Gilgandra Panthers first grade
The Ahrens Gilgandra Panthers first grade side hit the paddock for their final hit-out for 2024 against a monster, mobile Cobar side. It didn’t take long for the Roosters to get the scoreboard ticking when Tristen Everett scored out wide. Thomas Plater converted and five minutes later he was lining up another conversion after Everett scored in the same spot. 10-0 to the Roosters. Midway through the half, Tim Hillam increased the lead for Cobar when he caught a high ball and planted it down under the cross bar. Plater made no mistake and Cobar lead 16-0. Ryan Urquhart increased the home side’s lead when he scored in the corner as the halftime hooter was sounding.
Cobar looked to have an unassailable lead as both sides returned for the second half but it was the Panthers who scored first, when Ty Sutherland scored a brilliant individual try after eight minutes. This stung the Roosters back into action and they scored four converted tries to leave the Panthers reeling, trailing 40-6 with five minutes remaining on the clock. To their credit, the whole Panther side weren’t going to give up without a fight and with the minutes counting down it was their inspirational leader, Blake Frost who scored for the Panthers. Ty Sutherland converted and just as the hooter was sounding, Ty potted a field goal from long range to make the final score 44-11 to the Roosters who now advance to a home semi-final game against Narromine next Saturday, August 10.
Once again the Panthers were best served by the Frost brothers, Blake and Issac, whilst the Sutherland boys, Ty, Caleb and Alex, have shown with their improvement this year that they are the future of the Panthers. A difficult first year of coaching for Bill Welsh, but he has learnt so much and has passed on his passion for the game to his troops who can only look forward to a bigger and better 2025 season.
Next week, the Panther reserve grade side do it all over again when they head back to Cobar for a qualifying semi-final against Gulgong. The Reggies will be kicking off the action at Tom Knight Oval. Hopefully they will have plenty of support with them being the only side to fly the Panther flag for the rest of the season.
