Panthers coach Trent McDonald said his team dominated the first half, scoring the only four goals of the match. 

“I think we took them by surprise a little bit. We played some pretty good hockey in the first half and moved the ball around quite well,” he said.

Two goals were scored by Panthers’ usual suspect Brandon Horner, one by Nic Milne and the other by Jacob Townsend.

McDonald said Sharp’s performance was impressive. 

“He was a bit too quick for me, he burnt me a couple of times, but some of the younger guys didn’t do a bad job marking him,” he said.  

“We certainly didn’t make it easy for him.” 

Zig Zag turned a corner in the second half, maintaining possession and pushing for goals. 

“We pretty much had all the play second half, we had 14 short corners and they had none, ” Zig Zag manager Brian Kelly said. 

But both teams failed to hit the back of the net in the final half. 

“In the end the Panthers were the better team, they scored more goals than us,” Mr Kelly said. 

Longtime Panthers goalie Logan Hunter had to leave the match after halftime, giving Aaron Reed the opportunity to make his Panthers’ debut. 

“Aaron had a really good game there in the second half,” Panthers coach Trent McDonald said. 

“We were under pressure the whole 35 minutes.”

Lachi Sharp said the match was a special experience for him, despite the Zig Zag loss.

His father Richard and brother Zach were both on the field.

“Yeah, it was good. I was pretty excited, obviously the local derby is always a big game. And playing with my father and brother was pretty special,” Sharp said. 

“I don’t think we really linked as a team but that’s probably because it was like a trial game for us, as we didn’t play a trial before the season started.”

He said he ‘definitely’ expected Zig Zag would see a turn around. 

“It’s still a young side but it’s a very elite team, so I’m looking forward to the outcome.”

Zig Zag will play Souths in Bathurst on Saturday, May 5, at 1.50pm. Panthers will host Orange at 2.40pm.