Bathurst Panthers is an Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

football team based in the Central West city of Bathurst. The Panthers have played in the

Country Rugby League The Country Rugby League of New South Wales (CRL), formed in 1934 and disbanded in 2019, was the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in areas of New South Wales outside the Sydney, Sydney metropolitan area until it merged with ...

-controlled Group 10 Rugby League since 2000, following the amalgamation of the Bathurst Leagues Club and

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...

Leagues Club. The club has won three premierships during the 21st century under its current incarnation, defeating Lithgow Workmen's Club in both 2006 and 2007 by the scores of 10–4 (after

extra-time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

) and 24–4 respectively, before winning another in 2018 against the Cowra Magpies. The club's most recent success premiership was a thrilling 12–10 win over the Cowra Magpies, with Panthers five-eight Willie Wright kicking a conversion from the sideline late in the second half. Panthers would back on their premiership with a 9–8 win over Mudgee Dragons in

. The club has a fierce

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

with Bathurst St Patrick's.

History

Bathurst Panthers Rugby League Football Club was founded in 2000 as a result of the amalgamation of the Bathurst Leagues Club and

Leagues Club. While the club is only two decades old, Panthers can trace its origins to the 1920s with the establishment of the Charlestons Rugby League Football Club. Charlestons' only Premier League success was in 1979, an 11–9 victory over Cowra at the Bathurst Sports Ground. In 1989, the Charlestons club amalgamated with the Bathurst Leagues Club to form the Bathurst Penguins Rugby League Football Club. Charlestons' Wayne Boyd and Graeme Bell were the core executive who negotiated the merger with the Bathurst Leagues Club's directors Dan Lavelle and Peter Tobin, as well as club secretary manager Rick Matthews. These three were the founding executives of the new Penguins club; Wayne Boyd as president, Peter Tobin as secretary, Graeme Bell as treasurer and Dan Lavelle as vice-president. The name 'Penguins' was selected as it was the official logo of the Bathurst Leagues Club, who had adopted the bird as its figurehead as the penguin is renowned as "never taking a backward step". The Penguins enjoyed immediate success and played in the two lower grade grand finals in 1990, winning the First Division but being defeated by Orange CYMS in the Under 18s by a single point. Mal Fitzgerald was the inaugural Premier League coach but the club finished in the middle of the pack. The first year efforts were subsequently built on under coaches Lindsay Johnson in 1991, beaten in a replay after the scores were lock in the 1992 grand final with Cowra. Penguins would finally break through for its maiden success in 1994 under coach Paul Upfield and in 1997 under coach Dave Scott. Former

NRL The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

player for

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

, South Sydney and

Sydney Roosters Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...

forward John Fearnley was appointed coach in 1998 and oversaw the club as it amalgamated with the

Leagues Club, to form a new club the new Bathurst Panthers Rugby League Football Club. Panthers would enjoy two consecutive grand final wins in Premier League against Lithgow Workmen's Club in 2006 and 2007, winning 10–4 after

and 24–4 respectively. The club was coached by Dave Elvy. In 2018, Panthers broke a 12-year Premier League premiership drought when captain-coach Doug Hewitt led the club to a famous 12–10 win over Cowra Magpies at Sid Kallas Oval, with five-eight Willie Wright kicking a conversion from the sideline with minutes remaining.

Team of the Century

The Bathurst Panthers Team of the Century was announced in 2004, to mark a hundred years since

was first played in Bathurst.St Pat's, Panthers, Railway rugby league clubs announce their teams of the century
in ''Western Advocate'', 6 February 2014 * Neville Smith * Fred McGarry Sr * Harold 'Dukey' Lewis * Bill Bake * Tom Marsh * Brian 'Butch' Stevens * Robbie Cashen * Dave Nicholls * Greg Hay * Tony Burke

Team records

Premier League: (4) 2006, 2007, 2018, 2019 Runners-Up: (3) 2000, 2004, 2005 Minor Premiership: (3) 2000, 2004, 2007 First Division: (8) 2000, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2016 Under 18s: (6) 2000, 2001, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2018 Women's League Tag: (2) 2013, 2014

Notable Juniors

* George Rose (2004-15 (

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Manly,

St George Illawarra The St. George Illawarra Dragons are an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since 1999 after a j ...

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm is a rugby league football club based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia that participates in the National Rugby League (NRL). The club plays its home games at AAMI Park, and wears a purple and navy blu ...

) *

Harry Siejka Harrison "Harry" Siejka () (born 3 February 1992) is an Australian rugby league footballer who most recently played for the Cessnock Goannas. He has also played for a National Rugby League clubs, the Penrith Panthers, New Zealand Warriors, Cant ...

(2011-15

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. The club have won the League Championship six times, the Challenge Cup f ...

)

References

{{Reflist

External links