AFTER having a hand in four of his side's eight tries yesterday, makeshift Panthers halfback Luke Lewis insisted he would quite happily go back to playing on the wing.

In fact, Lewis - chosen in the second row for City Origin just three weeks ago - suggested none of the Penrith players would mind too much where they played after making a pact to do everything in their power to ensure this was a successful season for the club.

With Tony Puletua and Nathan Smith joining Lewis in the departure lounge at the end of the season and a number of other key players, including Luke Priddis and Luke Rooney, also likely to leave, the Panthers have accepted that this playing group will not get another chance to win a premiership together or play in the finals.

"I think everyone knows that the team changes every year so you've just got to try and take every opportunity with the blokes you're with and try to enjoy your footy," Lewis said.

"You don't know who is going to be in your team or who is going to be there next year so we just all decided as a team and with all the coaching staff that we'll all look forward to this year, we'll do everything in our power, and hopefully we come up with something special and finish off on a high note this year. We're all pretty tight now and we're just getting tighter so we just want to enjoy each game and each moment together."

Having signed with South Sydney last month, Lewis is suddenly looking like an inspired buy after starring at halfback for the past two weeks following Penrith coach Matthew Elliott's shock decision to give the 2003 Kangaroo tourist the No.7 jersey.

After playing most of his junior career at either centre or five-eighth, Lewis had trained all off-season with the intention of moving closer to the ball following the loss of Peter Wallace to Brisbane and Craig Gower to French rugby union but he had not envisaged being halfback.

"Matty just said he wants me there for my talk," Lewis revealed. "I'm always talking at training, I must annoy the other boys but I'm just out there trying to get their minds ticking over while they're doing the hard stuff. I always used to look up to Brad Fittler, he was my idol, and when you watch him he just used to talk all the time so I just thought it was part of footy.

"But I've got a lot to learn, too, and Jarrod Sammut has been playing pretty good football in reserve grade so I'm sure he'll step back up again soon. But I'm not too fussed where I play as long as I play."

Asked if that included the wing, the 24-year-old former NSW Origin representative said: "If someone puts me there, I'll take it with two hands."