HE was the sort of utility player Bathurst Panthers coach Doug Hewitt was happy to have in his ranks, but next season when the men in black chase a Group 10 premier league treble they will have to do it without Josh Small.
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A knee injury Small suffered in Panthers' 9-8 grand final win over the Mudgee Dragons will likely rule him out for 2020, the news coming as a blow for himself and the club.
After sitting out 2018 due to work commitments, this year Small signed up for the Panthers and had expected to be part of the first division squad.
But Hewitt started Small on the wing in premier league and later switched him into the forward pack, the utility filling spots in both the front and second row.
With size and speed, Small handled all jobs given to him, earning the praise of his mentor on a number of occasions. That is why the news a knee injury would sideline him was hard for Hewitt to take.
"We have one big loss in Josh Small who had a massive year for us right across the park, starting on the wing then moving into the forwards as a utility. Whenever he was on the field you knew he was going to add a fair bit of oomph," Hewitt said.
"But he's done his knee which is pretty shattering for him after having such a breakout year. It looks like he's going to be out for awhile.
"None of us thought it was that bad, including himself, so I was shocked to get that message off him."
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Aside from Small, who scored seven tries across his 18 games, Hewitt says the rest of this year's title-winning side are expected to return.
Building on what he achieved with that playing group - they won 16 of their 19 games including their last five in succession - is a prospect which excites the talented halfback.
He feels the eagerness of players to stay at Panthers reflects the camaraderie which has been established within the squad.
"I haven't heard that any of them are leaving," Hewitt said.
"With the rest of the team the good thing is that we don't have people leaving or looking to go elsewhere, I think the culture we have in the team, we are pretty lucky."
One thing that is likely to change is the way Panthers are viewed before the start of the season.
In Hewitt's first year of coaching they were not spoken of as title favourites and even after winning the 2018 premiership, he felt not many people rated his men a genuine shot of going back-to-back.
But as Panthers aim for a title treble in 2020 with the addition of prop Josh Starling and a bulk of this season's title winning squad, it means the men in black will be the team to beat.
"I suppose the first year I took over we really flew under the radar and then the second year we were talked about but people still didn't really know if we could go all the way," he said.
"I suppose going from two from two now, we'll have a massive target on our backs, especially if we get a few new recruits."
