When Adam Fearnley was called into action off the bench, it marked the first time that a father and son had both played premier league for the Panthers.

John Fearnley previously lined up in the front row for Panthers, while Adam – who enjoyed a stellar junior career in the halves – was used in the back line for his debut.

Panthers coach Todd Barrow was happy to give Adam his chance in the top side.

“He’s a good, young kid, he loves his footy too. It was good to get him out and experience playing football with the guys and I’m sure he enjoyed it,” he said.

“He does have a lot of potential, there’s a lot of good, young kids coming up through the club at the moment, which is a positive. We want to keep trying to blood them, give them a good taste of first grade and prepare them for the years ahead.”

There have been other sons to follow in the footsteps of their fathers to crack the top grade ranks at the club – Bert and Jeremy Gordon plus Royce and Dan George - but in those two cases the father played for Bathurst Penguins and son Bathurst Panthers.

John Fearnley joined the club when it was known as the Penguins after playing for Parramatta and Souths between 1991-95.

He won a premiership with the Penguins in 1997 before taking over as captain-coach for 1998. He also oversaw the transition to Panthers in 2000 before retiring. He is a life member of the club.