Penrith's grand plan was Parramatta vision

In fact, the former decade-long Eels coach knows too well that the Panthers' current reality was once a Parramatta vision that never truly got the ultimate reward.

"What (Matt Cameron) would say to me is that it was just a copy-and-paste job," Smith told AAP.

"There's no need to complicate it."

Cameron is Penrith's CEO of football, and the man some consider to be Phil Gould's greatest signing when Panthers supremo.

But for 15 years before that, Cameron was one of the men trying to end Parramatta's long premiership drought.

An assistant coach in the under-16s Harold Matthews set up when Smith arrived at the Eels at the end of 1996, Cameron spent most of his time working in the Eels' junior pathways.

The much-talked about Penrith player production line that is the envy of every club is the exact thing Cameron attempted to set up at the Eels.

In Smith's time at the Eels, Parramatta won a total of nine NSWRL club championships, demonstrating their success from under-16s through to reserve grade.

At Penrith that dominance is being replicated and then some ahead of the Panthers' third straight NRL grand final and possible premiership defence.

A strong mutual respect remains between Smith and other former Eels staff at the Panthers, with insiders happy to point out the striking similarities in systems.

"It was more than the winning thing (about the pathways)," Smith said.

"When I first got there, on the food-chain of coaching, Matty was on the bottom.

"So if you want a person who understands the history and how to develop a club, coaches, assistant coaches and finally players, Matty has seen it all.

"Phil Gould knew what he was getting when he took him to Penrith."

Parramatta's inability to take that next step and convert their hope of the early 2000s to a premiership has been one of the stories of grand final week.

So too their dramatic slide from 2009 onward, with the club at times losing its identity and ging through the 2016 salary-cap scandal before rebuilding to return to Sunday's grand final against Penrith.

But as far as Smith is concerned, what Cameron has at Penrith is the same job with more experience, life lessons, geographical pull and far greater resources.

"You could easily stuff that up or not maximise it though," Smith said.

"What he has been able to do is adapt and embellish all the advantages that Penrith have.

"They are a very wealthy club.

"They have always good pretty contacts in western NSW.

"But he has just made the most of all those resources and opportunities to create what that juggernaut is."

Under Cameron, Penrith pour in some $2.5 million worth of investment each year and the likes of Ben Harden, Sam Jones and former Eel Lee Hopkins now heading it up.

It's a process that includes around 300 youngsters each year, with academy squads in Penrith and at satellite towns in Dubbo, Forbes and Bathurst under other former Penrith players.

Just last week its results became most evident, as the Panthers took out the NSW Cup and under-21s Jersey Flegg, after also winning the under-18s SG Ball in April.

Victory on Sunday would make the Panthers the first club in the game's history to take out all three of those grades as well the top-flight in the same year.

"Cammo (Cameron) is the brains," long-time Panthers recruitment manager Jim Jones said.

"It probably all started when he got here and had that history in pathways at Parra.

"He sat down and one of his first papers was develop from within.

"We said let's start winning under-16s, then 18s, and it will roll onto first grade."

In its most simple terms, the program taught at Penrith differs from the one at Parramatta two decades ago only in that there were no regional academies for the Eels.

But the outcome is similar.

In 2009 when the Eels reached the NRL grand final on the back of a crazy run from eighth spot, there were 13 players in their 17-man team that made their debuts at the club.

This year, Penrith's 30-man squad includes a whopping 24 who have been through the club's elite pathways system.

"I remember Nathan (Cleary) and Jarome (Luai) sitting on the bench in Harold Matts," Jones said.

"And then you have a bit of luck and guys like (James) Fisher-Harris and (Moses) Leota roll into town.

"But the idea was just to get that winning culture into your grades and it will burst into your system.

"It's like a drug eventually, they get used to it and they expect to win."

Cameron is not alone in having the Parramatta DNA.

Until last year, Craig Catterick was Penrith's head doctor after serving a long stint at Parramatta under Smith.

Former Eels performance boss Hayden Knowles was at the Panthers until exiting last season, with close observers noting strong similarities between the way the Eels of 2001 and current Panthers team are prepared.

Both teams could back up play after play, while their forwards show the mindset of always moving and regularly competing for the ball in the in-goals.

"When Gus or Ivan (Cleary) took those guys out of Parra, they were getting a lot more than just the average acquisition or staff member," Smith said.

"Penrith were getting guys who were very effective in their jobs. But they were also getting the unity package.

"They all knew each other. And that made it easier for them to make progress rapidly.

"They got so many people on the same wavelength in so many aspects: Developing a club in the pathways, creating success."

Australian Associated Press