Unfortunately it wasn't to be, with the mountain men going down in a hard fought premiership decider against the Canberra Raiders, 18-14.

But come 1991, a rematch for the ages against the Green Machine saw a side with plenty of potential become champions.

And for Gooloogong's Royce Simmons, it proved to be what can only be described as a perfect swan song - scoring two tries, despite injuries, and holding up the coveted Provan-Summons Trophy (formerly the Winfield Cup) for the first time.

Simmons' efforts in that grand final have again be recognised with his inclusion in the club's Ultimate Team.

The concept saw the club's 1991 and 2003 grand final squads go head-to-head for a spot in the side, with a tally of more than 90,000 votes from members and fans.

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Edging out Luke Priddis, Simmons was named as the side's hooker earlier this month.

Speaking to the Cowra Guardian, Simmons said taking the spot was unreal.

"For a club that has been in the competition since 1967, I have a few honours there," he said.

"Being part of the hall of fame has been outstanding, then named in the top 17 players for the club's 40th celebrations, the first international player for Penrith and to get this from a combination of the two grand final sides has topped it off.

"I still live in Penrith, I played my whole career there so it's nice to be able to get around town and be recognised by all the locals.

"They are good people, just like the Cowra, Gooloogong and Canowindra people."

Simmons said the Panthers' Ultimate Team was a star-studded line up of the club's past players.

"There are some big names in the side, Luke Lewis, Brad Fittler, Craig Gower, Greg Alexander, Mark Geyer, Rhys Wesser, a lot of good players," he said.

"All fantastic blokes. So putting them together, it's a pretty fair side no doubt about it."

He said the concept had been a great idea to keep fans involved in the game and provide a much needed distraction.

"For the fans, it's a good thing because it gets you talking about rugby league again," he said.

"They had quite a few members vote so it got a lot of people talking again.

"If Luke Priddis had been picked, you couldn't have argued about that, he was a tremendous player and a Clive Churchill winner in the final.

"It's just good that we are talking about the game again, that's the best thing.

"It also takes the pressure off all the other things going on that are negative at the moment," he said.

Simmons said he personally found it tough to judge different sides and players as their performances needed to be looked at in context

"It's all lighthearted but personally I find it hard to compare the different eras," he said.

"I've got no doubt the 2003 side would beat the 1991 side, but that's because one side was full time while the other was a part-time, if you swapped the roles around I have no doubt the other side would win.

"I'm sure if the 2003 side played today's side, today's side would beat them. Cars go quicker, swimmers swim quicker, tennis players get better, that's just how life is.

"I don't think we should really compare the sides, but it is a fun thing to sit around and pick players, mix them up and pick a side."

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Simmons said, in general, it's hard to put together a "best" side for any NRL team.

"You pick your best team, then you think I could have put him in or was he better than him," he said.

"I've played with Brett Kenny, Wally Lewis, Peter Sterling and blokes like Gene Miles, some of the greatest players of all time and you think there's no one better than them.

"Then you think, 'Oh what about Johnathan Thurston', so it's very hard to compare them, you just need to take it team by team.

"I went away in the 1986 Kangaroos side but the Australian side today would obviously beat them because they are bigger, stronger and fitter.

"In fact, I was asked recently to pick my toughest five players by a reporter in Penrith. At number one I picked Greg Fearnley who I played with in Cowra in 1977.

"Not many people would have thought of that, but I have never played with a tougher player than Greg in my time.

"I've seen him play with a lot of injuries and he still played as good as he ever could, so I put him down as number one and I have no doubt that's right to me," he said.

Simmons said he wanted to thank all the people who had voted him into the side.

"As Brad Fittler said recently 'Not many people would vote for Simmo because he used to use a pigeon, not a computer', so no doubt thanks to all the fans," he said.

"Remember, it's only someone's opinion, it doesn't mean it's right or wrong or in-between.

"But it is fun to name the players that you knew over the years and who gave so much long service to a club."

Simmons said he was looking forward to the return of the national competition on May 28, given the success Penrith had already enjoyed before the season's hiatus.

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"Penrith had got off to a good start and I'm really happy they let the sides keep their points," he said.

"I would have been so disappointed had they taken the points off Penrith because so much hard work went into their pre-season.

"A pre-season can set you up to win a competition five or six months down the track. I don't think people realise how much work and preparation goes into it.

"If you get that wrong, it's very hard to catch up later on and anyone who got early points this year has put in the hard work and deserved what they got.

"So it was a great decision by the league to make sure that every side kept their points and that will carry on when the next competition comes in.

"Unfortunately we won't be able to see any games live but we'll get on the telly, start watching them and talking a bit of rugby league to take our minds off the other things that have happened to us," he said.