Panthers, Passion And Politics

The Roger Cowan Years

A serialised historical archive of the Penrith Panthers organisation from 1965-2005.

This website presents the original manuscript of Jennie Bentley’s book, Panthers, Passion And Politics, in serialised form, accompanied by contextual and archival material designed to preserve clarity and historical balance.

The material is organised so that readers may follow the narrative in sequence, consult chronology where helpful, and explore supplementary perspectives without interrupting the original voice of the text.

If you are new to the project, begin below.


Begin Reading

An introduction to the project and how to approach the material.

An overview of structure, chronology, and navigation.


Latest Release

  • The Criteria
    When the Super League war ended, peace came at a price. A new set of selection criteria would determine which clubs survived in the National Rugby League—and Panthers quickly realised the numbers were stacked against them. What followed became a desperate race against time.

A Note on Structure

The manuscript is presented as originally written, divided into readable segments and published progressively. Contextual tools — including a chronological timeline and supplementary material — are provided separately to maintain clarity of voice and structure.

Where reflection or additional commentary appears elsewhere on the site, it is clearly identified.