Two points.
That was the difference.
In a game where the nib Newcastle Knights had plenty of opportunities, Penrith took their chances.
The visitors may have left McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday night bruised but they left with the two points after downing the Knights 16-14.
Match Highlights: Close calls and freakish luck
It was an action-packed start for the Knights who were denied by the bunker early in the piece.
Connor Watson looked to have scored but was denied with Lachlan Fitzgibbon to be ruled as interfering with the play after running a decoy.
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After Kalyn Ponga booted a penalty goal to take an early 2-0 lead, it was the Panthers who struck first with the four-pointers when James Fisher-Harris crashed over.
With Nathan Cleary missing the goal, the visitors led by two but not for long.
A short-side play from Kalyn Ponga was a piece of brilliance.
The five-eighth shot a long ball to his unmarked winger Edrick Lee and the flyer did the rest.
Watch: Ponga + Lee = Magic
Ponga nailed the conversion from the sideline for a four-point lead.
Unfortunately for the home side a freakish piece of play saw Frank Winterstein cross for a halftime lead of 10-8.
Ponga had a chance to level the scores on the halftime bell but couldn’t kick the penalty goal.
The second half was a slow one for the Knights with Isaah Yeo crashing over beside the posts five minutes after play resumed.
With the Panthers leading 16-8, the Knights threatened to steal the game when Edrick Lee crossed in the corner, only to be denied by a James Maloney try saving tackle.
They had another late surge when bench forward Mitch Barnett charged over to score next to the posts in the 73rd minute, cutting the deficit to 16-14 after Ponga’s conversion from in front.
But it was too little too late for Nathan Brown’s men.
