The Pink Panthers league-tag ladies were in Batemans Bay against the revitalised Bay Tigers, while the reserve grade men headed to Moruya to meet the Sharks. 

Club officials said it was a mixed bag for the Panthers as the men’s team got the result, but the ladies suffered a round one loss to the Tigers. 

“First up saw the Pink Panthers up bright and early and heading to the Bay where the girls went down 22-6,” Officials posted on social media.

“With new combinations and new faces the girls played hard aggressive football with fatigue towards the end being their own enemy.”

Despite the loss the club said there were plenty of positives to be drawn from the game, especially with a number of players getting their first taste of league-tag. 

“Congratulations to Jezebel Hitchins Eboni Henry and Sharna Mitchell on your debuts for the Pink Panthers,” the officials said. 

“And a special thank you as well to Jake McDonald and Em Irvin for coming up and helping with strapping and water running.”

In the afternoon the Panthers were able to overcome a strong Moruya outfit. 

“Similar to the Pink Panthers, there were some new combinations for the boys and it went set-for-set for the majority of the first half.”

However, officials said the completion rate plummeted early in the second half and the Panthers were “inviting” the Sharks in. 

Later in the piece, the Panthers rallied their efforts. 

“The boys lifted hard in defence to come away with a win in a nail-biting final minute.”

“A converted try right on full-time making the score 26-24! Congratulations boys for a first round win.”

Officials thanked Mark Henry, who came out of retirement to pull on the boots for the Panthers, but he’s been warned he could on the card regularly from now on. 

The club also thanked Kat for managing the bench, while Deano and Fox did their regular hard work. 

The Panthers will be looking to build on their results, but officials said they are working to build from square as the club had lost a number of players. 

Club president Jake McDonald said there would be a big focus early this season on skills and play combinations as the Panthers had welcomed a number of new players to the fold. 

He said the club had gained a bit of speed out wide, but was also maintaining its size across the front row that has become something of a calling card for the Panthers. 

The Pink Panthers are also in a building phase with the club welcoming a number of new starters to the women’s competition. 

Group 16 round two continues this weekend.