It's a feeling he wants to experience again this Sunday at Carrington Park when Panthers host the Mudgee Dragons in the 2019 grand final.

Last year as his Panthers teammate Willie Wright nailed the conversion from the eastern side of Sid Kallas Oval to seal a 12-10 win over Cowra, Rivett admits he wasn't watching.

"I was copping some abuse from someone in the crowd, so I was looking to see who it was and missed the kick," Rivett said.

"It was pretty obvious it went in when I saw all the Panthers people going wild on the sideline.

"It was unreal, I'm still shocked about last year and it's definitely something I want to feel again."

That win over Cowra - a game in which Panthers came from 10-nil down - rates as the highlight of Rivett's career thus far. It marked a big change in fortunes as in 2017 he only played eight games in premier league with the Oberon Tigers and finished the season in first division.

Rivett made the switch to Panthers - a club he'd played under 15s and under 18s with - in hope he would force his way into the premier league outfit.

That he did and come Sunday at 3pm, he will run out with the Panthers' No.1 jumper on his back ready to bring down Mudgee.

"Moving to Panthers, it's probably the smartest decision I've made in my footy career," Rivett said.

"Last year was my first grand final ever - well in Group 10 that is, I'd made a couple of school ones, but nothing serious.

"Yeah, I'm enjoying my footy ... especially with my two halves Willie and Dougie (Hewitt), they make everything pretty easy, you can just play off the back of them.

"This year it definitely feels different, there is a bit more expectation on us, but I think we've been playing a bit better footy this year as well. Last year we just seemed to get it together at the end of the year, but we've been good all year this year."

Rivett - who has scored seven tries for the men in black this season - and his Panthers took the direct path to this year's decider with a 40-18 qualifying final victory over Mudgee then a 30-16 major semi-final success against Orange Hawks.

It means Panthers also have hosting rights and when it comes to playing with the men in black at Carrington Park, Rivett's record couldn't be better.

He has played 16 games at the venue and won all of them. He is hungry to take that tally to 17.

"It's a big difference playing there, I don't think I've lost a game at Carrington Park since I started with Panthers last year. Hopefully that continues," he said.

"I'm little bit surprised we're playing Mudgee, but it's not a big shock. If you look at their team with Jack Littlejohn and Jack Beasley, you can't write them off, so it's going to be a tough game.

"We've just to keep doing what we do best, keep playing for each other and keep showing up and if we can do that, we will be hard to beat."

Kick-off in Panthers' bid for back-to-back titles is at 3pm.