WESTERN Division's juniors and coaches have long benefited from the Rams' relationship with the Penrith Panthers, but now that connection is under strain.
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Penrith Panthers general manager Matt Cameron has revealed his club's development programs - including those they have run within the Western Division - are currently under review.
Cameron said financial impact the coronavirus has had on Panthers may mean it has to scale back its programs.
For the man who previously said Penrith felt an "obligation" to develop talent within the Western area, it is a tough situation to face.
"It's a worry ... we are a development club, so for us to potentially be in a position to not be able to do what we've done in the past, to the extent we've done in the past, is concerning," Cameron said.
The link between Western and the Panthers has been a mutually beneficial one, with five of the last 20 players to debut for the NRL side being products of country development programs.
Bathurst talent Adam Fearnley took part in pre-season training with the Panthers' NRL squad, while his brother Brad Fearnley and Ash Cosgrove have also played for Penrith.
The likes of Dubbo's Matt Burton and Kaide Ellis, Wellington's Brent Naden and Parkes' Billy Burns have benefited from the link too.
Then there have been countless more Bathurst juniors who have improved their skills via the cubs program Penrith has conducted with Western players from under 13s through to under 16s.
Cameron, who was previously Penrith's high performance manager, admits he is unsure what his club's involvement with Western will be in the immediate future.
But is not likely to the same as in years past.
"The programs here at Panthers, outside of what we do with the NRL, the club would've have from a budget point of view for 2020, for this year, we would have been committing close to $2.8 million in what we call development," Cameron said.
"Development for us that is everything that scales down from Jersey Flegg all the way through to our under 13s and what we do in country regions.
"The funding to do with that part of our business comes direct from the leagues club, so obviously the club is going through difficult times at the moment, as is a lot of people, a lot of other businesses.
"The fact [is] that those programs are going to look different moving forward potentially as the club works to reopen.
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"We are currently looking at budgets for next year and we are waiting for guidance from the New South Wales Rugby League of what competition formats look like next year.
"There is no guarantee at this point in time that what existed in 2020 will be a carbon copy in 2021.
"At the moment we run seven or eight programs, including what we do in country regions and girls rugby league, and we are reviewing those programs and trying determine are we in a financial program to be able to replicate what we do this year next year."
Panthers media manager Evan Sieff said a way the general public can support the club - and in turn its junior development programs - is to purchase a 'Panther Pride' membership pack.
"The membership pack itself will be donated to a local individual or family doing it tough, while the funds go directly towards salvaging what we can of our development programs," Sieff explained.
"So it doesn't matter what NRL club you support. The child ($49), adult ($61) and family ($149) price points give people an opportunity to choose the level of their support."
