Dubbo's Isaah Yeo motivated for more Penrith success at Bathurst's Carrington Park

The Penrith Panthers lock and former Dubbo player is gearing up for his eighth start at the Bathurst ground this Saturday night when his side go up against the Wests Tigers.

Yeo has missed just a single game with the Panthers ever since they began taking a game each year to Carrington Park in 2014 and he's been somewhat of a good luck charm for them.

He's got a win-loss record of 5-2 in Bathurst and he'll be a heavy favourite to make that 6-2 by the end of this Saturday's match after playing a Tigers side still on the hunt for their first win of the season.

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Six of Yeo's previous Carrington Park games came with the Panthers first grade side while he also made a start with the club's NSW Cup side back in 2015.

It's no doubt been a treat for Central West rugby league fans to see so much of Yeo over the past decade in their own backyard, and it's a trip that the lock also enjoys every season.

"It's my home away from home. I love coming away here just for the country aspect of it, and then it's obviously close to Mudgee and Dubbo. I've got a lot of family there," he said.

"I've had a lot of success here so hopefully that can keep going on Saturday night. I'm really looking forward to it.

"Country life just suits me to a T. It's great coming here and seeing how excited all of the kids are. I was in their shoes at one stage. I still remember Andrew Ryan taking the Bulldogs out there for the City v Country games in Dubbo.

"I feel very lucky. I been fortunate that I've luck with injuries and kept in form so that I've been able to keep playing here."

Both Panthers and Tigers travel to Bathurst with losses to their names in the previous round.

However, it's the latter who would be feeling more upbeat about the result.

Panthers watched their eight point lead disappear in the last five minutes of their game against South Sydney after the Rabbitohs scored twice to win 20-18.

Tigers had the lead against the Manly going into the last 10 minutes of their match but a late try to the Sea Eagles gave them a 22-16, although Wests looked far more competitive than any other game they'd played this season.

Panthers are raging favourites for the Bathurst clash but Yeo said his side have to respect the Tigers, especially with the dire position the Wests side find themselves in.

"It was a disappointing loss last weekend against Souths. I thought we were better than them for the majority of the game ... but in those last five minutes you could see why Souths are so good," Yeo said.

"I still feel like we're improving with every week. We've had a couple of nice big scorelines there. We've got new players in this season and we've been adjusting on the run and it's been enjoyable.

"I feel that Tigers are building each week. It was never going to be perfect straight away. I thought they showed that they were building with the way they played last week against Manly.

"When the wins aren't on the board and you come across a desperate side they're often willing to throw the ball around. We need to make sure we're ready for that. I'm looking forward to the challenge."

Dallin Watene-Zelezniak is the only other player to have made six NRL starts at the Bathurst ground but with his move from the Panthers in 2019 it has opened the door for Yeo to move into an outright lead this Saturday night.

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