Leading Penrith players say the fear of throwing away a rare finals opportunity is the driving force behind the club's push for the NRL premiership.
The Panthers will play their first finals match in six years when they take on the in-form Canberra Raiders at CUA Stadium on Saturday night.
It's been an agonising wait for a return to September action for the mountain men, especially forward trio Trent Waterhouse, Luke Lewis and Frank Pritchard, who all played in that last finals match in 2004, as well as the club's premiership triumph 12 months earlier.
Back then the Panthers were an exciting young team on the rise and hopeful of a long period of success in the competition.
But it didn't work out that way and it's only now - after six fruitless seasons- that Matthew Elliott's side are finally back at the business end of the season.
Panthers centre Michael Jennings said the club's veterans had been drilling into the side the importance of taking this opportunity and not to take it for granted.
"House (Trent Waterhouse) has been informing the boys you shouldn’t take it for granted because who knows when the next one will come," Jennings said on Wednesday.
"We've just got to step up to another level, that's what's needed from us."
"We finished the season on a good note and if we win we get that week off which is going to be a plus for us and one step closer to (the grand final)."
"I haven’t played finals footy...it's going to be something different but I don't want to get too excited because we've still got a job to do."
Half-back Luke Walsh is another player well aware of making the most of the present, with a win over Canberra on Saturday moving the club to just one game away from the grand final.
"We haven’t been in semi-final football for a long time and we just want to make the most of it," Walsh, who still has to prove his fitness from an ankle injury to face the Raiders, said.
"We know we might not get an opportunity like this again and we're going to try and do everything we can to go all the way."
"Everyone's ready, we just want to get started with it all on Saturday night."
As well as Walsh, the Panthers also have an injury concern over Dally M Lock of the Year Lewis who didn't train on Wednesday.
Lewis missed the club's round 26 clash against the Sharks with a calf injury but Elliott was confident his stand-in skipper would be right to play.
But the Panthers boss rejected speculation of a surprise return for full-back Lachlan Coote who has missed almost two months with a groin injury.
"We're not playing ducks and drakes there, he (Coote) wasn’t named because he's not available and won't be playing," Elliott said.
"The guy we have got playing full-back (Michael Gordon) at the moment is doing a fair job I reckon."
The Panthers have scored 128 points in their last three matches heading into the finals but Elliott is aware his side will have to improve their game to knock off the Raiders, who have won eight of their last nine games.
"(They) have come in with a great deal of confidence, so it's going to be a massive challenge for us," Elliott said.
"What we can do is influence our own form and find ways to play a little better than we have done."