So, what about Phil Gould's five-year plan at the Panthers? "There has never been a five-year plan. That's media gibberish," Gould fires back.

Call it what you like, but there's no doubt Penrith set some lofty targets when Gould joined the club as general manager. And if you're measuring success based on premierships, as most clubs do, then you can argue Penrith haven't reached their targets.

But this was never about premierships. At least it never started out that way. It was about overhauling a system that failed to take advantage of the biggest rugby league nursery in the country.

It was about rebuilding a club that had no money, no direction, no plans and no intention of executing anything but a stop-gap solution for short term success.