They'd just been in with the Penrith Panthers players after the resounding round 11 victory over the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Dubbo.

There was plenty more youngsters waiting with baited breath outside the sheds, running forward to get a photo with Panthers players as they walked out on their way towards the team bus.

The very last player to exit the sheds was Isaah Yeo, and he got a hurry-up from club staff as well. It was time to get going, everyone had to get back to the foot at the mountains.

But Yeo was in no rush. Not only did he hang around for a few photos with kids and a chat with some of his former coaches, he also agreed for a quick interview with the Daily Liberal about playing an NRL match at home.

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He was under no obligation to do that and all the other player interviews had been completed, but it was just another example of the kind of actions which have helped Yeo develop into one of the most respected players in the game.

There's few in rugby league who have a bad word to say about the Panthers co-captain and two-time Dally M Lock of the Year who's now just 80 minutes away from becoming an NRL premiership winner.

Former Penrith general manager Phil Gould has been one of Yeo's biggest supporters.

The Dubbo product was someone Gould highlighted regularly during his time with the club as he worked to build the Panthers into the premiership force they are now.

"Yeoy, you epitomise everything we want this club to be," he told the St John's junior when he presented him with his jersey ahead of his 100^th NRL match back in 2018.

Gould was vocal again when Yeo was named as Panthers captain for the very first time, also during the 2018 season.

"Isaah Yeo is an inspiration to all young players anywhere in the country," he stated then.

"If you want something badly enough and you are prepared to work hard, you can achieve great things.

"What a great story. What an outstanding young man."

What Yeo epitomises is that determination and work ethic.

It's desire, effort, and willingness to never give in and let down your mates.

It's the kind of thing which can make all the difference in a match like Sunday's grand final meeting with South Sydney and it's something mentioned almost every time the 26-year-old's game is being analysed.

That attitude has been a massive part of what has helped Yeo become a NRL captain and Origin player after a solid, rather than spectacular, junior career.

Yeo failed to earn selection for the Western Rams while coming through the junior ranks at St John's and CYMS. Panthers recruitment officer Jim Jones even had to argue with selectors just to get Yeo named in a Probables team at a school tournament at Forbes early last decade so he could watch him more.

Current Dubbo District Junior Rugby League president Bernard Wilson touched on this week when discussing St John's products Yeo and Matt Burton both earning selection in the Dally M Team of the Year.

"Isaah, particularly, has had to work extremely hard to be in the position he's in," Wilson said.

"He now gains the respect of all his peers. If you want to achieve anything, you want that respect and he's definitely done that."

So often regarded as just a reliable, no frills first-grader in the past, Yeo is definitely catching the eye now and earning the kind of recognition people here in Dubbo have known he's deserved for so long.

"Penrith's by far most important player is Isaah Yeo. He is an amazing player," former premiership winner and Australian representative Matty Johns said on his podcast earlier this week.

"That's the critical combination, you've got (Nathan) Cleary, (Jarome) Luai, Isaah Yeo. It's like a three-punch sequence when they start to play. But Yeo, he starts it all, just little smarts.

"I think he's the most intelligent player in the competition and for this week, if you put it in a nutshell for Souths, if they can minimise Yeo's impact then Souths win."

That kind of praise isn't given out lightly and it's not lost on his family, either.

"As parents, we're really happy with where he's at," Isaah's father Justin said this week.

Isaah has often highlighted his father as one of his heroes.

Justin played 11 games at the top level with North Sydney and Balmain and while Isaah may have been too young to watch a lot of his father, he knows he shares many traits on and off the field.

The effort in defence is one of those, while Isaah also credits his dad for ball playing abilities in the middle of the field after Justin tried to develop his son as a five-eighth during their time as coach and player in the under 18s at CYMS.

That steely determination and attitude is also something that comes from the way he was brought up and those traits were a major part of why Panthers coach Nathan Cleary decided on the Dubbo product as one of two co-captains at the club this season.

"When Isaah first became captain, he said 'you can't ask people to do something if you're not willing to do it yourself'," Justin said, before looking at Sunday's grand final.

"So he'll be very busy and he's going to be tired by the end of it. He'll do a good job. Fingers crossed they get the result."

Family is a big part of the culture at Penrith.

There's the obvious connection between Ivan and Nathan Cleary but the families of players are often involved, as was the case earlier this season when Justin and Amy were asked to make the trip to Penrith earlier this year to surprise their son at his jersey presentation ahead of the 150^th match of his career.

Those kinds of connections were something Isaah brought up this week when talking about the chance he and Nathan Cleary have to lead out the Panthers in a grand final.

"It's something myself and Nathan are very proud of," he said

"Obviously we have very close-knit families and it's something they are very proud of as well, both the Yeos and the Clearys."

Family has again been a focus for the Yeos in recent times, as Isaah's partner Ashleigh Camenzuli is currently pregnant with their first child.

It's an exciting time for the pair, and could be made even more special on Sunday should Yeo be there lifting the premiership silverware with his Panthers teammates.

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