Forty Years of Penrith Panthers: Greg Eccleston's Best XIII

1. Rhys Wesser

Lightning fullback, so evasive, and a beautiful running style. Loved watching him go around (or straight). All-time record-holder for tries by a fullback in a season (25 in 2003).

2. Luke Lewis

All-round great player. Started as a skinny teenage winger. Finished as a Clive Churchill-winning backrower (*at another club). Waited for years to make his Kangaroos debut after Chris Anderson pulled his old mate Darren Smith out of an English pub instead.

3. Michael Jennings

Could run like a Porsche. Zero-100 in 3 seconds. Cornered like one, too.

4. Ryan Girdler

Another beautiful mover. Penrith’s prince of centres. The Intercept King. And no one will ever beat his 32 points in a State Of Origin game.

5. Luke Rooney

One of the first of the very tall, strong wingers. They all come like this today. But Rooney was the prototype. Great in the air, too. Two tries in the '03 GF.

6. Brad Fittler

What can you say? One of the game’s greats. That step of his past Ellery Hanley on dusty old Penrith Park. Gus Gould knows footy. I reckon one of his greatest achievements is making sure Freddy Fittler achieved his potential. Too bad they took off to Easts!

7. Greg Alexander

Penrith's greatest. Came out of Commonwealth Bank Cup and after two games in the reggies, into First Grade and killed ‘em straight away. Premiership-winning Captain. Superb footballer.

13. Colin Van der Voort

Magnificent, copybook defender. Best lock in the club’s 54 years. Arguably greatest player from anywhere to never play top-level rep footy.

12. Chris Mortimer

Tough, tough man & brought that to a team that needed it. Came from the centres into the second-row and ran the same hard lines. At training at Penrith Park famously removed a pin from his hand using a pair of rusty pliers.

11. Mark Geyer

Penrith’s beating heart and soul. Fiery and brilliant second-row forward. Only player to ever stare down Wally Lewis and be sin-binned in a grand final. In the same season.

10. Petero Civoniceva

Gave the Panthers forward pack real grunt. And really bought into the club after a storied career at Brisbane. Only time that he won Dally M Prop of the Year was @ Penrith in 2008.

9. Royce Simmons

Greatest of all time. Had my "schooner with every one of youse" with him in 1993 in a pub in Hull. He was coaching Hull FC, I was backpacking. I was once kicked off talkback radio for arguing with Warren Ryan that he was a better hooker than Benny Elias. He was!

8. James Tamou

A great big body with a lick of pace and footwork. Does things on his feet a five-eighth would be happy with. Matured into a leader. Greatest New South Welshman to ever come out of Palmerston North.

BENCH:

14. Craig Gower; 15. John Cartwright; 16. Darryl Brohman (second from right, middle row); 17. James Fisher-Harris

RESERVES:

18. Luke Priddis; 19. Trent Waterhouse; 20. Brad Izzard; 21. Kevin Dann (above)

Coach: Tim Sheens. 

Phil Gould and John Lang got the premierships. But only after Tim Sheens dragged the club out of the swamp.