Panthers were almost unstoppable in the opening 30 minutes of the match securing three unanswered first half four pointers.

Narayan Rodwell got the ball rolling for the home side before Aiden Stevens showed some individual brilliance in scoring his two tries.

His second four pointer came just moments before half-time after Bathurst placed a massive amount of pressure on the Hawks’ line.

Despite holding the man and ball up over the try line twice in consecutive tackles, there was little the Hawks could do when Stevens beat his defender out wide to give Panthers a 16-0 lead at the break.

Looking to keep their momentum going, Bathurst were back out on the field before the Hawks and even the referees.

When Panthers’ Chris Sheppard made a 40 metre break with his first touch it looked like the second half would mirror the first.

However it was Orange who opened the scoring when Matt Codner slipped over just inches before the line but managed to jump back up and stretch out for the try.

But when Junior Langi crashed over to re-establish the 16 point buffer, the Panthers victory never looked in doubt.

With the win a certainty for Bathurst, Codner scored his second try but it was little more than a consolation for the Hawks.

Bathurst Panthers’ coach Dave Hotham said he was very pleased with how his team started the match

“It was a good win today. All the boys played good as a team,” he said.

“The second half was a little bit scrappy but it was a pretty good game.”

Hotham praised the work effort his team produced in offence and defence for the entire 60 mintues.

“Narayan Rodwell and Brent Seager worked well together with some ‘tip ons’ and got on a bit of a roll,” he said. “Brad Hodges also played really well, filling in at halfback.”

The 12 point victory just the thing according to the Panthers mentor with next weekend’s clash expected to have plenty of fire.

“We’ll just work on a few things close to the line [at training]. We seem to get a little bit flustered,” Hotham said.

“We have a few things to work on but we should be right after that for our game next week against St Pats in the local derby.”

BATHURST PANTHERS 22 (Aiden Stevens 2, Narayan Rodwell, Junior Langi tries; Trent Guihot 3 goals) defeated ORANGE HAWKS 10 (Matt Codner 2 tries; Mitch Hurford goal)