The Panthers and Warriors were both scratching around in the bottom four on the competition table when they last met, in round 24 of last season. And the game looked like that. It was a scratchy, mistake-ridden contest at Mt Smart Stadium in which the Panthers came out on top, 18-16. The Warriors had their chance. They led 10-0 in the first half and 16-6 in the second half, but simply couldn’t hang on, and the Panthers – despite fielding numerous rookies - finished the better. Fullback Lachlan Coote and centre Travis Robinson scored the second-half tries that got the Panthers home. It was a critical two competition points in Penrith’s bid to avoid the wooden spoon, which they eventually succeeded in doing.