An understrength Lithgow Panthers side suffered a shock loss at the hands of their hometown rivals Zig Zag on Saturday, July 21.
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The score blew out to 9-0, giving Zig Zag a boost into third spot on the Central West premier league ladder, one behind Panthers, who are now in second place.
Zig Zag fielded Commonwealth Games gold medallist Lachi Sharp, who found the back of the net in the second half.
Co-captain Luke Sheppard had a field day, taking a hat-trick in the first half and leading the team home with another in the second.
“We came into this game really pumped – it’s always a good game between us and Panthers,” Sheppard said.
“We played really strong and had a really good win.
“All the boys put in a good effort today. We worked really well as a team. We’ve had the same for two weeks in a row now and we don’t usually have that luxury.”
Lachi Sharp had his second outing in a row with the squad and Sheppard said he was a welcome addition “with his speed and skill”.
“Lachi Sharp’s gotta get some praise but the boys all worked well together, so it’s a credit to everyone,” Sheppard said.
The Panthers, left reeling after the big loss, they will be looking to move on and have a great outing against Orange next week at Orange.
“We had nine of our first team out today so we knew it was going to be tough,” Panthers coach Trent MacDonald said.
“No excuses. They played very well. They had a good side today.
“I was a little bit disappointed with the score blowing out that much. We turned the ball over was too much. It’s not that the effort wasn’t there, it was just basics were terrible today.”
He paid tribute to a couple of gun 15-year-olds who played for the Panthers on Saturday, Mitch Thompson, Lachlan Roach and Lachlan Wilson.
“Lachie Wilson played left half. He was under pressure a lot and did a good job,” MacDonald said.
“The young guys going great and it’s a good thing for our club that they’re coming through. They’ll be building for the future.”
The Panthers had a good win over Souths three weeks ago, before a bye. MacDonald said the team would be aiming to cement their place at the top end of the ladder in Orange on Saturday.
“That will be a hard game. They’ve started to play really well again, so hopefully we can get some troops back on board and keep moving forward,” he said.
“With our full side we’re very strong and we’re very hard to beat.”
Lithgow Zig Zag 9 (Luke Sheppeard 4, Michael Dillon 2, Taylor Tattersall 2, Lachie Sharp) def Lithgow Panthers 0.