Penrith have survived a second almighty scare from Brisbane this season to hold on for an 18-12 win, setting the scene for an intriguing top-of-the-table clash with Melbourne next Saturday night.
With Nathan Cleary still missing and Isaah Yeo knocked out early, the Panthers were far from their best in both attack and defence at Suncorp Stadium.
They endured a tryless first half and lacked their usual polish, before scoring three times in 11 minutes after the break to seemingly seal the game at 18-0.
But it was then their defence that left them in trouble, conceding twice late and missing 66 tackles - more than double their average of 27 this year.
Kobe Hetherington and Ethan Bullemor both crashed through their middle late in uncharacteristic scenes, threatening a grandstand finish before Penrith held on.
Regardless, the win was still enough to keep the Panthers level on points with Melbourne at the top of the ladder ahead of their blockbuster clash.
Much like the Panthers, the Storm had their own struggles in edging North Queensland on Friday night.
There is some chance Cleary could return for the highly-anticipated game, in what would be a much-needed boost to their minor premiership hopes.
At stages on Saturday night, it almost appeared as if the Panthers had one eye on that clash.
They failed to make use of Brisbane being down a man when Thomas Flegler was sin-binned for hitting Yeo high, instead lucky not to go down 6-2 in that period.
But when it mattered they still delivered after their first-half points came via a penalty goal and 42-metre two-point field goal from Dylan Edwards on the siren.
Viliame Kikau was menacing on the left edge throughout, setting up their first try when he put Brian To'o over after Tyrone May and Jarome Luai linked in the lead up.
Stephen Crichton then stamped his authority on the match, setting up the try of the night with a no-look flick ball out the back for Charlie Staines after To'o broke downfield.
The Penrith centre also had one of his own six minutes later when Corey Oates fumbled a poor Jarome Luai pass, allowing Edwards to kick it out wide to his centre.
The result came after Penrith also only beat the battling Broncos 20-12 in round six, having been stuck level at 12-12 until the dying minutes of that game.
