Five years on: Panthers and Dragons matchup remains must-watch footy

From the moment the full-time siren sounded not long after Doug Hewitt's premiership-winning field goal, to give the Panthers a 9-8 win at Carrington Park, there were a range of emotions and heated discussion that followed in the weeks to come.

Many opinions were shared and dissected on the refereeing from the game, and for Dragons fans there was an air of controversy that hung around the game, while Panthers celebrated back-to-back titles - ultimately the last two Group 10 premierships handed out before the move to the Peter McDonald Premiership in 2022.

The next chapter of the Panthers-Dragons rivalry gets written this Sunday at the venue where Panthers won that last title.

Panthers player-coach Jake Betts looks back fondly on that day in September and said it's a matchup that has been full of emotion ever since.

"There's was obviously a bit of controversy and it was a very close game. There's always a bit of feeling there, and it's one that you mark down on your calendar," he said.

"Since that game they've had the wood on us though. I'm really looking forward to this one."

Betts' brother Jake, Dave Sellers, Josh Rivett and Joey Bugg are the only players from that 2019 grand final still in action for the Panthers this season.

It's an even smaller selection of Mudgee players from the decider who are still active for the Dragons, with only Jackson Littlejohn and Jack Beasley remaining on the roster in 2024.

However, even though there's different personnel on both teams these days that hasn't done anything to diminish the intensity of the game.

Betts said those player differences have forced his side to play a much different brand of football to the one they utilised five years ago.

"It's a completely different side now and we lost a lot of experience out of that 2019 team," he said.

"There was the likes of Brent and Blake Seager, Jack Siejka and Dougy Hewitt. It's been quite some time since those boys have been there, but the team we have now has their own strengths.

"We play a different brand of football now. Making changes is something you've got to do when the game has changed so much anyway, and Mudgee's changed a lot since then too."

Panthers enter the game at the top of the PMP ladder, with four wins from their five games this season.

Their tough 20-14 success last round over the previously unbeaten Orange CYMS will have caught the attention of all other teams.

Betts said his team are remaining grounded and keeping their focus away from the ladder.

"Mudgee, Dubbo CYMS and Orange CYMS are still definitely the sides to beat. Mudgee will definitely be tough," he said.

"We're tracking alright but not getting too far ahead of ourselves. It's a long season and we're only a quarter of the way through, but we've had our share or injuries and setbacks so it could have easily gone the other way.

"This is a massive one for us. If we can compete with them then that'll give us a really good gauge of where we're at.

"We've had a tough run to start the year when you look at the teams we've played but it's probably what we've needed."

Panthers surprised the Dragons in a 20-12 victory the last time they met, late into the 2023 season.