Is history repeating itself at the foot of the mountains?
More than a decade ago, a trio of youngsters broke into first grade to lead Penrith to a grand final triumph in 2003.
Those youngsters – Luke Lewis, 20, Luke Rooney, 20 and Trent Waterhouse, 22 – would soon go on to represent their country on the way to earning reputations as some of Penrith's greatest local products.
There is an eerie similarity this year with Matt Moylan, 23, Bryce Cartwright, 19 and Isaah Yeo, 19, all becoming integral members of a fast-improving Panthers outfit.
While injuries may deny Penrith glory this year, the Panthers of the early 2000s did not taste immediate success when their rookies broke into the top grade.
It was not until Rooney and Lewis' third season in the NRL that the Panthers really hit their straps, knocking over the Sydney Roosters to lift the premiership 11 years ago.
Both Moylan and Cartwright are local juniors, while Yeo migrated from Dubbo a few years ago and has called Penrith home ever since.
There is also Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, the 18-year-old flyer who has been given a taste of first grade this year with injuries to Josh Mansour and David Simmons.
"I didn't really think they were going to have a big role," Ivan Cleary said of his rookies. "You're never quite sure when you put a young bloke in if he can adapt and how long he can keep up the intensity for. All I know is that we've got a few good ones and the experience they are getting at the moment will be invaluable down the track.
"We've always said we'll probably be at our best when the majority of our first-grade team has come through our system. We said that two years ago and you can't speed up time. You saw the under 20s with the strong side we had last year and some of the guys you've mentioned coming through. Even just playing first grade is a big thing going into the next season because they feel like they belong. This is invaluable and, now that we're playing big and meaningful games, even more so."
Cartwright was in primary school the last time Penrith won the grand final. That victory is one of his earliest rugby league memories and, while he was probably too young to appreciate the magnitude of their feats, Cartwright is hopeful the new posse of local talent can leave a similar legacy at the club.
"When they won the grand final, that's when I started going for the Panthers," Cartwright said. "I loved that side, with the Lewises and the Rooneys ... that Sattler tackle in the grand final, I'll never forget that. They were some of my earliest memories of the Panthers. The younger generation is coming through again and there's a few special players coming through here. It will be good for us to stay here together and try and get a combination over the next couple of years and see where it goes from there. A lot of us are juniors here, so we want to try and build something special here.
"I was kind of worried when I saw some juniors go like Jenko [Michael Jennings], Lewy [Luke Lewis] and Blake Austin. I was a bit confused seeing that, but I can see what the club was trying to do. Hopefully they can keep the juniors here now because the roster is looking pretty good here at the moment, so hopefully we can build to bigger and better things. It's home for me and I really like the way the club is heading."
A fortnight ago, Yeo, Watene-Zelezniak and Cartwright played their first game together in the NRL. While Yeo was reluctant to draw comparisons between the current crop of rookies and the early 2000s, he believes they have the potential to be the cornerstone of the club.
"With the younger kids coming through, like Bryce, Dallin and myself, it's good for the club," Yeo said. "I’m not sure if we can reach the same calibre as the 2003 team. Luke Lewis has had a long and successful career, and if we can do that it'll be great for us and the club. With the five-year plan, there are a few players going to be key in that. The more we can play in first grade, the more we can be part of that.
"We just played our first game together in first grade with Bryce and Dallin the other day. That was huge. I've been with them since I first came down here. I played S.G. Ball, 20s, NSW Cup and then first grade with them. For me, that was an honour. Hopefully we can do more of that together."
