DAVE Elvy knows firsthand what it is like to carry the weight of expectation that comes with being captain-coach of Bathurst Panthers, a weight which Doug Hewitt is now experiencing.
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But Elvy feels that Hewitt is more than up to the task and has proven over the last two seasons - seasons which have result in a Group 10 premiership - that is the the right man to be guiding the Panthers.
"I spoke to Dougie a couple of times when he first took on the job. He was always going to be successful as a coach because he's a good bloke, he's good at managing people and gets along with everyone," Elvy said.
"That's half your battle as a coach, player management, and he's done a really good job with it.
"He's done a really good job in getting the club back to where I believe it should be."
While both Elvy (five-eighth) and Hewitt (halfback) were named in the recent fan-voted best Panthers side, the playmakers never lined up in the same team give their age difference.
Still, Elvy has seen plenty of what Hewitt can do.
"Dougie is a fair bit younger than me, when I was coaching Panthers he was coming through the juniors. When I retired I helped Paul McDonald coach the under 18s team and Dougie was in that," he said.
"So I have had a little bit to do with Dougie over the years, he's a real good bloke. I know he's got a lot of respect off people at the club and players as well and that's why he's getting results and on top of that, he's also a very handy player."
After leading Panthers to the grand final in 2004 and 2005 but missing out, Elvy felt the pressure to guide the club to its maiden Group 10 premier league title intensify.
But the following season Elvy got to hoist the premiership trophy as Panthers posted a 10-4 extra-time win over Lithgow.
Panthers then backed that up with a title defence in 2007 - this time beating Lithgow 24-4 on grand final day.
Hewitt has also guided Panthers to consecutive titles. His side beat Cowra 12-10 in the 2018 decider then downed Mudgee 9-8 in an extra-time thriller in last year's decider.
Now Hewitt is looking to guide Panthers to a third consecutive title - something which hasn't been achieved by any Group 10 club since Oberon's 1969-71 treble.
"I think it has only happened a handful of times in the Group, back-to-back premierships, at any level or any Group it's hard because the pressure builds and the expectation builds," Elvy said.
"At Panthers especially, whether you've got a good roster or a poor roster, the expectation at Panthers is to be successful. That was one of the challenges I found when I coached, especially after losing two grand finals in a row - I'm glad we won the third year we made it."
