Penrith feel that knocking off title favourites Melbourne on their home turf is the perfect springboard into the NRL finals.
The Panthers found some much-needed form to snap a two-game losing streak with with a 22-16 victory against an under-manned Storm outfit.
They sit fifth on the ladder but could still be leap-frogged by St George Illawarra or Brisbane, although they would need big wins to do so.
Interim coach Cameron Ciraldo, who took over after Anthony Griffin was sacked last month, said the team hung tough when they trailed 10-6 at halftime with a 11-4 penalty count against them.
They also managed to stay in the match despite having two players, Josh Mansour and James Tamou, sinbinned almost back-to-back in the first half.
Ciraldo said the Panthers would draw confidence not only from the win, which was their first ever at AAMI Park, but also from the performance.
"The performance that we put out there, if we can do that again next week I think we're in with a chance," Ciraldo said.
"Coming down here the performance was more important than the result.
"The Storm are a great side so it's a good way to finish off the regular season and gives us a good chance leading into next week."
Skipper James Maloney, who missed the two losses with a knee injury, was integral in the win, probing the Storm's shaky right edge defence to set up two tries.
He also took advantage of Melbourne's makeshift halves combination after Cameron Munster and Brodie Croft were late withdrawals with knee injuries.
The veteran playmaker said he always had confidence the Panthers would regain their form ahead of the playoffs.
"That performance out there is the perfect springboard to go into the finals so we'll play our best footy next week," Maloney said.
Share
