Penrith coach Anthony Griffin has lauded his team's newfound ability to defend their way to a 16-8 win after holding out a stubborn Canterbury side.
Considered one of the premiership's major attacking threats this season, the Panthers kept their finals ambitions afloat with a gritty effort at home.
The win lifts them to 24 points alongside eighth-placed St George Illawarra, who meet Newcastle on Saturday.
"We're obviously defending well and that gives you a lot of confidence. You only defend well when the attitude's right and the team spirit's good," Griffin said.
"The team's just getting a little bit tighter and tighter every week, as the season goes on. We're just playing really tough together and finding a way to win."
Griffin believed it was always going to be a scrappy affair against a Bulldogs side under intense scrutiny for their efforts over the past month.
Coach Des Hasler's future was again a hot topic, while star five-eighth Josh Reynolds is under investigation for an alleged off-field incident in Cronulla.
"It was always going to be like that tonight against the Dogs," Griffin said.
"But I thought from our end, it was good we were able to meet that from them and push through the other side of it."
Without injured skipper Matt Moylan and forward leader Trent Merrin, the Panthers struggled in attack for most of the match.
It wasn't until Dallin Watene-Zelezniak's breakthrough try midway through the second half that the Panthers clicked into gear.
"It was obviously a little bit clunky there at times. But the Dogs, when they're in that mood, they're a hard side to attack against," Griffin said.
"They jam up the play the ball and they're up and in on you. I thought we missed a couple of opportunities in the early part of the first half there.
"But in general, we were patient with the ball, we built pressure and we got what we needed."
The victory was soured by a possible broken jaw to Leilani Latu, but Griffin is confident Moylan and centre Dean Whare would be back for next week's match against Wests Tigers.
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