Elvy's victories in 2006 and 2007 helped put two years of grand final misery behind the Panthers and made him a club legend in an instant.

Now Doug Hewitt has the chance to join him.

Hewitt's defending champion Panthers have had the targets on their backs all throughout 2019 but that hasn't stopped the men in black from rising above the pressure.

Elvy knows how great the sensation of winning a grand final on home turf as defending champions can be.

It's the same scenario Hewitt and his teammates have the opportunity to do on Sunday.

The past two years of success for the Panthers has made Elvy a happy man.

"I've been involved with the club since 2002 and it's great seeing the club finding success again in first grade. The other grades have been successful over the years but first grade is where you want to get things right. It's really pleasing," he said.

"I was definitely more excited when I won the first one, and that was the first one for the club, but going back-to-back was really enjoyable. It's not something that's happened that often in Group 10.

"I remember that day very well and what that feeling was like. They've got one foot in the door."

There's never one element that makes up a premiership-winning team.

Developing the right mix of talent is of course vital to success but there's big off-field elements that play a part.

Elvy believes the number of juniors staying with the club and other players making a return to Panthers says a lot for the culture which has developed in recent times.

"There's a lot of juniors in that team who have come through our ranks," he said.

"There's also players who have left town to try and make it in NRL clubs and then come back home. There's some amazing talent around the team.

"I've spoken to Doug a couple of times and while a lot of the success comes from him doing the right things as a coach it's also because he's a good bloke.

"I've always said regardless of how much you know people will always play for you if you're a good bloke and he's developed a great relationship with his players and is reaping the rewards for that on the field."

That's an assessment Panthers president Dennis Comerford agrees with.

"It's different eras of football. In Dave Elvy's era there were a lot of players who came from outside the group," he said.

"There were a lot of guys in the team who had come across from Group 10. We even had Karl Lovell who had come from the NRL.

"We haven't got those sorts of blokes this time. It's mostly our own kids and, in a way, it makes it even more special, for me. Having these kids playing some fantastic football is great to see."

Will the returning juniors rise to the occasion?

Staying switched on is something many people talk about when it comes to major semi-final winners.

There are those who believe the week off can sometimes hinder a team but from Elvy's point of view he wouldn't have it any other way.

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"I've always been a believer that the weekend off isn't a bad thing. I'd rather be in the grand final already than having to play another game," he said.

"The difference this year is that they get to sit back and really enjoy the build up to the grand final. They've got two weeks to prepare well and just enjoy the experience whereas last year it went a bit quicker and were playing week in and week out.

"I experienced both ways as well, doing it the hard and being first in. You spend a bit of time training and enjoying time around your mates.

"A lot of their games were close last year and it left a lot of them as walking wounded. They just had to will to win last year."

Hewitt has the opportunity to do something which Elvy couldn't do - beat Mudgee Dragons in a grand final.

Elvy came up short in the 2004 grand final at Carrington Park before losing to Lithgow the following season.

His back-to-back premierships in 2006 and 2007 cemented his legacy and made Panthers the first team to appear in four straight grand finals since the Dragons between 1984 to 1987.