"Not on your life."
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That was the strong message from Penrith Panthers chief executive officer Matt Cameron when asked if his club would ever walk away from its partnership with the Western Rams.
Cameron was in Dubbo last week and spent time at St John's College, which is one of the regional academy sites used by the NRL powerhouse alongside others at Forbes and Bathurst.
The Panthers and Western Rams formed a partnership in 2017 and it has resulted in seven players from the region making their NRL debut at the club in the years since.
On top of that, a host of Western juniors have played in the lower grade system and a number of current under 16s and 18s will follow in their footsteps in the years to come.
The partnership has been mutually beneficial as the Rams have gained expertise from the Panthers' coaching structure while the injection of Western talent has played a role in Penrith's three straight NRL premiership victories.
Penrith also has a commercial interest in the region through the Bathurst Panthers Leagues Club and the NRL team have an agreement to play one NRL premiership match a season at Carrington Park through to at least 2028.
![Matt Cameron (left) and Shane Elford (right) of the Penrith Panthers with St John's College teacher Andy Haycock. Picture by Nick Guthrie Matt Cameron (left) and Shane Elford (right) of the Penrith Panthers with St John's College teacher Andy Haycock. Picture by Nick Guthrie](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/dCXpDgwTEgA52iNCe5aWtJ/3f2198ef-ba7d-4c11-ad26-f5e938e68cd8.JPG/r511_394_3781_2365_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"There is absolutely no intention from anyone at the Panthers to have this relationship go in any direction but upwards," Cameron said.
"We get very proud when we can see the whole journey. We've got kids in our own (Penrith) junior league that progress through to first grade but it's just as exciting when we can see that whole transition from a young Western corridor player.
"There's all the trials and tribulations to get there and the travel and the effort that parents make to get their sons and daughters to these games is phenomenal, so when we see them hit that absolute pinnacle is really nice."
Bear epitomises Panthers
One of the most recent players to reach the pinnacle is Blayney Bears junior Liam Henry.
A regular in Western Rams junior teams, Henry made the move to Penrith after winning the Group 10 under 18s player of the year award in 2019.
He made his NRL debut in round 25 of the 2022 and has since established himself as a regular in the top grade.
"Taking to his mum and dad, and his journey through our club, it's been tremendous," Cameron said.
"He deserves every bit of it. He's a great young man and he's a great ambassador for our club. The way he carries himself is absolutely what we're aspiring to achieve."
It was only recently Cameron was going through some old video of Penrith's trips to the western area from last decade, and footage of a young Henry popped up.
![Liam Henry on the charge for the Blayney Bears under 18s during the 2019 season. File picture Liam Henry on the charge for the Blayney Bears under 18s during the 2019 season. File picture](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/dCXpDgwTEgA52iNCe5aWtJ/e37f38fb-0957-42a0-9e61-add3bfe9b711.jpg/r1067_947_4014_2680_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"He was part of a coaching clinic we ran at Carrington Park. It was years ago and there were so many it was hard to remember all the kids' names," he said.
"During lunch, we asked them to walk past a video camera that was rolling and we just asked him to stand in front of it and he said 'I'm Liam Henry, I'm from the Blayney Bears' and then the next one came along.
"He's a tremendous young man who's worked really, really hard to get where he is at at the moment.
"Because I'm involved with the contracting at the club and salary cap management, I've set of been on that journey doing his first contracts when he came into first grade and obviously the upgrades that have come since, so he deserves every bit that he's got."
Cameron said the Western Rams region can take plenty of credit for the Panthers' amazing run of recent success.
Before last season, no side had won three straight premierships for 40 years.
"It's been very beneficial for us and we've got to a point where our recruitment focus is quite narrow," Cameron said.
"It's in this corridor. It's not New Zealand, it's not North Queensland. It's not those places but it's definitely here in this corridor."