I decided to change the layout on my component in Netbeans GUI builder (aka Matisse).
Now it has completely screwed up my panel. I want to add a main panel to the center (ie default), and then add other components to the left or the right, however in Netbeans I don't see any option in the builder to add something NORTH, SOUTH etc.
Go to the desired component and right-click in properties then layout and then select the desired direction.