Panthers boss Phil Gould says his five-year plan could take up to a decade

PENRITH Panthers supremo Phil Gould has revealed his famous five-year plan for the western Sydney club might actually require another four or five years.

Panthers final home game of the season doubling as Bicentenary celebrations for the city. The General Manager of Penrith Panthers, Phil Gould AM (right) will join Penrith Mayor Councilor Ross Fowler OAM at Peppers Stadium, Penrith.

PENRITH Panthers supremo Phil Gould has revealed his famous five-year plan for the western Sydney club might actually require another four or five years.

The Panthers will enter the fifth year of Gould’s rebuilding plan in 2016, with just one finals appearance to show for it.

The addition of Manly centre Peta Hiku to an already impressive backline has many fans expecting a top-eight return next season, but Gould has warned against expecting too much too soon.

“We’re a young side, we’ve lost a lot of experience depth,” Gould told The Daily Telegraph.

“We’ve let go of nine senior players and seven of those have been replaced by young kids coming through.

“But we’ve got ourselves to the point where we’ve got a squad the coach can work with the next four or five years, and I think they’ll grow in strength from there.”

While the front office is in order, the under-20s side are reigning Holden Cup premiers and the NSW Cup side has proved competitive, Gould has reassessed the time frame for success at NRL level.

Injury has cruelled the Panthers’ past two seasons, while veterans like Brent Kite, Nigel Plum, Lewis Brown, Jamal Idris and David Simmons have either retired or moved on.

“They’re probably a little bit young at the moment, but if injuries are kind, they’ll be competitive,” Gould said of new coach Anthony Griffin’s squad.

“They’ll keep getting better. They’ll be completely different in two or three years when some of these guys have 80 to 100 games under their belts.’’

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Gould has overseen a bumper crop of young stars.

Hiku pulled on a Panthers’ polo for the first time on Tuesday and Gould was delighted to have the 23-year-old on deck.

The Penrith general manager said Hiku’s international experience would prove valuable to his younger teammates.

While Hiku can play fullback and was tossed the No. 6 jumper for the Kiwis during their recent three-Test series against England, Gould said he’d get first crack at left centre.

Gould said talk of Matt Moylan being shifted from fullback to five-eighth was not his call, and one for coach Anthony Griffin.

“The coach is a fan of him at fullback at the moment, and given he’s had a long lay-off with a very serious injury, that’s probably where he’ll start,’’ Gould said.

“We’ve still got (Peter) Wallace, (Jamie) Soward, (Tyrone) Peachey, Te Maire Martin, and other young halves in the system. There’s no urgency moving forward (with Moylan), in fact if it ever happens.’’

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Peta Hiku is the latest star to head west.

As for Hiku, the former Manly winger returned home to New Zealand on Tuesday and will report for Penrith training on January 4.

He first heard about the Sea Eagles wanting to move him on with still two years to run on his deal while sitting at LA airport as the Kiwi Test side returned from England.

“I rang (coach) Trent Barrett to see what he had to say, and he thought my future would be better off elsewhere,’’ Hiku said.

“He wanted me to play centre or fullback, and that’s what I wanted for myself, but that wasn’t going to happen at Manly for a few years with Jamie Lyon and Steve Matai, and Brett Stewart at the back.

“I was happy he came out and said that to me. It was also good there were a few other clubs interested in me. I’m at Penrith now and I’m excited about what the new season holds.’’

Originally published as Panthers boss Phil Gould says his five-year plan could take up to a decade