Penrith NRL skipper Luke Lewis says the Panthers can no longer use instability within the club as an excuse for poor performances on the field.
The Panthers struggled to 12th during a 2011 season besieged by off-field turmoil, with two coaches shown the door and uncertainty over the future of the skipper eventually leading to Petero Civoniceva returning to Brisbane.
It was a disappointing encore to a 2010 campaign which ended with so much promise, with Civoniceva not the only casualty under the new regime of general manager of football Phil Gould.
But with a new coach in Ivan Cleary calling the shots, Lewis said the club was ready to move forward, starting with Saturday night’s clash against Canterbury at Centrebet Stadium.
“The club’s going in one direction,” Lewis said of the difference between this year and 2011.
“Everyone in the club – from the cleaners to the CEO and the board members – everyone’s going in the same direction and I think that’s what you need to be a successful club.
“I think our focus last year probably wasn’t spot on, but every year changes. This year, the focus is on being a team and concentrating on one goal and one goal alone.”
While the focus is there, Lewis freely admits it might take some time for the results to follow.
When Gould announced Cleary would be coming on board, he said the former Warriors coach would do so without the pressure of needing to turn the Panthers into an instant premiership force.
“Everyone in the league is the same – we’re all pretty competitive, we’re definitely not going to be holding back this year,” Lewis said.
“We definitely are in a rebuilding stage. I know the club, that’s what they want to do, but I really believe that the group of blokes that we’ve got here can do the job as well.
“We’re not looking too far ahead – we’re just looking to Saturday night.
“I think we’ve definitely got the side that can trouble sides.”
The Panthers head into the Bulldogs clash buoyed by the knowledge they have won seven of their past nine clashes against their round-one opponents.
