Kearney happy to escape 'hornet's nest' with a win

Warriors coach Stephen Kearney was pleased but not yet satisfied with his side's overall performance in their 30-10 win over Penrith at Panthers Stadium on Friday night.

After recording back-to-back wins for the first time in 2019, Kearney said a few lapses before and after half-time were the efforts that irked him most in an otherwise dominant performance in enemy territory.

While the Panthers never scored any points in those periods, several errors allowed the home side to only trail by 16 for most of the contest. 

"I thought we could've been better. I thought before half-time we probably didn't do ourselves any favours," Kearney said.

"We put pressure on ourselves, I thought we started the second half a little bit dusty. I think we can be better no doubt. The way we defended our try line was real positive for us."

Kearney said he prepared the side for a Panthers' ambush with most of the focus on former Warriors coach Ivan Cleary's struggles at Penrith.

"I touched on it early in the week, the potential was we were walking into a hornet's nest," Kearney said.

"We were in a very similar position two weeks ago. I'm not saying we're out of that position. There was a bit of coverage of it so it was really important we came and focused on our tasks. I thought we did that tonight early."

The arrival of former Broncos playmaker Kodi Nikorima looms as the final piece to the Warriors' spine puzzle after losing Shaun Johnson in the off-season.

"Obviously Kodi has come on board and I think that's helped [the spine]," Kearney said.

"I didn't think we were playing real bad the month leading into the Dragons game, we just lacked a bit of polish and coordination in getting results.

"I was pleased for Kodi. I thought a couple of touches he had tonight he showed what he was capable of. He fits into the group pretty well."