But the two wins over the Dragons this season were far from easy.

As the Panthers look to take back-to-back premierships they go into the final meeting with the Mudgee men knowing discipline has to be high on their list.

Panthers were their own worst enemy at times in their close 23-20 and 14-10 victories against the Dragons this regular season but they learned their lessons in the qualifying final against the same opponent.

That's the refined offence and more disciplined defensive effort Panthers player-coach Doug Hewitt is chasing for one more game.

"The niggle has crept into a couple of our games against them and they've stuck with us at times," he said.

"In a couple of those games we were all over them for the first 15 to 20 minutes then the niggle sneaks in and we start playing their game.

"Everyone knows the magnitude of this game. It's going to be a straight forward arm wrestle for the first 20 minutes and then the first team to break from that wrestle is going to be behind the 8-ball for the rest of the half.

"It's all about having the right mind frame."

Panthers were in that zone against the Orange Hawks during their 20-point preliminary final win.

Everything about that match, according to Hewitt, acts as an excellent blueprint for how to approach the grand final.

"That first half against Hawks was probably one of the best halves of footy that we've ever put together," he said.

"Hawks had about four or five sets on our line but then we went down the other end of the field and scored twice after that.

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"Against any team that can hurt you, thinking you're on top and having two quick scores against you. We need to show that same sort of intensity against Mudgee.

"In our semi-final against them there wasn't much that was going to stand in our way on that night."

The beauty of the Panthers' run through finals so far is they've barely changed either their lineup or approach across both wins.

That's a trend expected to continue going into the big dance.

"Not much has changed, really, going into finals. Obviously the intensity changes a little bit," he said.

"Everyone's attitude is on a high at the moment around the club but at training we're trying not to change things up too much. There's no point going away from what's been working for us."

History is against the Panthers in the grand final matchup against the Dragons.

Dragons have won this same encounter on the last day of the 2000 and 2004 seasons. Both games also took place at Carrington Park.

Panthers will be fielding an identical lineup to the one which brought down the Hawks a fortnight ago.

Mudgee are chasing their first title since 2016.

Kick-off between Panthers and Dragons is set for 3pm.