Hooker Kevin Kingston has pleaded with Penrith to end his NRL journeyman existence after starring in his first game for his latest club.

The 2009 Parramatta finals hero had a hand in several of Penrith's tries and scored one himself as the Panthers opened their season with a 34-16 win over Canberra.

Kingston famously offered to hand back his match payments to stay with the Eels after their miraculous run last year, while Parramatta team-mates were prepared to take pay cuts to keep him.

Eventually forced to leave by the salary cap, the 26-year-old has found happiness at the foot of the Blue Mountains.

It is known coach Matt Elliott is keen to keep the hooker and Kingston, who signed a one-year deal, is ready to commit long-term.

"Come talk to me, let's do it," he told AAP.

"Hopefully we can get something done but nothing's happened yet.

"Looking at this club and looking at the players and the depth that we've got and the youth, I want to stay at this club for a long while, build a culture around this club, it would be great."

But Kingston, who played for Cronulla from 2005-08, isn't letting his future dominate his thoughts.

"I'm just thinking about footy," he said.

"I've been through this stage where I'm thinking contracts and whether it's going to be here forever and, if you look at last year, it could have been my last year of footy so I'm just happy to be playing first grade footy.

"If it turns into a couple of years' deal that's fine with me."

Kingston says the Panthers, who added considerable depth to their wealth of local products during the off-season, could be anything in 2010.

"I've sort of touched gold coming to this sort of club because it's the same sort of club as Parramatta, we've got strike power wherever we go," he said.

"Look to the left of me, look to the right of me, I've got threats everywhere so I'm pretty lucky.

"I noticed straight away that everyone gets along, there's no egos. I'm sure you saw the sign on the (dressing shed) door - "egos get checked at the door" - so it's just a fun place to be around at the moment."

Kingston, halfback Luke Walsh and five-eighth Travis Burns were a revelation for the new-look Panthers on Saturday night, starring in the key positions the club has struggled with in recent seasons.

Young gun Wade Graham, who played pivot last year, is still to come back from a shoulder injury.

"It got scrappy there for a little while," Kingston said of the new combinations.

"We still haven't put 80 minutes together of continuity but if we get that going we could be anything."

Walsh signed a new contract last week that will keep the former Newcastle half at Penrith until the end of 2012.

"It all happened just in one day, it was pretty quick so I was happy to get it out of the road, good to get my future sorted out," Walsh said.

"I love it here so I can't see myself leaving any time soon."

The Panthers are confident second-rower Trent Waterhouse (quad) will be fit for next Saturday's clash with North Queensland after he pulled out of the Canberra match.

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