They're coming off a loss but Penrith coach Ivan Cleary believes they're in season-best form heading into a crunch clash against Canberra.
The Panthers (2-4) have failed to live up to expectations this NRL season but Cleary is adamant a 22-18 loss against a high-flying South Sydney last week proves they're improving.
Cleary said they'll take plenty of confidence out of the defeat when they meet the Raiders, another top-four outfit, in Wagga Wagga on Saturday.
"We definitely made some strides last week, I felt like it was our best performance, they just took their chances and we didn't and that's probably a reflection of how both sides have been going," Cleary said.
"But all in all we definitely played better and got some confidence and belief out of it. We controlled most of the game and that hasn't been evident in previous games.
"Once you get some rhythm in your footy things start to follow and that started to show last week.
Some combinations started to show their head. We have to back up what we did last week and turn that performance and effort into a win.
"The further you get into the season the more important it gets to put the wins on the board so we're certainly aware of that."
The Raiders (5-2) four-game winning run came to an end against the Manly last week but Cleary said he's still expecting plenty of fireworks from the Green Machine.
"They've definitely got some threats right across the field from an individual point of view and we'll definitely have to be at our best defensively," Cleary said.
"A lot of games with the Raiders can (have) big momentum swings, and probably across a lot of games in NRL these days, so it's important we handle it when the momentum is with us and against us."
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