Phil Gould continued the cull at Panthers yesterday as skipper Petero Civoniceva become the third senior figure to leave the club.

Civoniceva has been granted a release to return to Brisbane to play. The official line is that he's returning for family reasons.

He joins former Panthers player Trent Waterhouse and coach Matthew Elliott who were both released from the club by Gould.

Penrith chairman Don Feltis said the club had needed some refreshing and Gould was the right person to do it.

He said they needed stability now in order to be ready for a confident start next year.