Last-gasp specialists Penrith have done it with some comfort at last, pulling clear of the Warriors late in a 30-18 NRL win in Christchurch.
Tyrone Peachey bagged three of the Panthers' five tries, including two in the second half as his team stormed home on Saturday in the final quarter.
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Peachey scores three as Panthers sink Warriors
Tyrone Peachey crosses for a hat trick in Christchurch. The Warriors left ruing what might have been, after blowing the lead, twice.
Four points behind at halftime after playing into a strong wind, the Panthers finally wore the Warriors down, scoring the only three tries in the second spell.
The double-digit winning margin was a new experience for the Sydney club, whose nine previous games were all decided by eight points or less.
![On the burst: Leilani Latu makes the Warirors defence work hard.](/web/20160919130727im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/v/9/4/u/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gov92r.png/1463273155918.jpg)
The result improves their win-loss record to 5-5, cementing their place in the top eight.
The Warriors drop to 4-6 and continue an alternating win-loss record over the past six rounds as they struggle to break into the top half of the table.
They made too many mistakes in the first half, when they had the advantage of gusty conditions and the noisy support of a packed crowd of nearly 18,000.
The first game in Christchurch for six seasons was largely a tense affair, spoiled as a spectacle by the error count from both teams and the wind.
![Going nowhere: Ryan Hoffman looks for options.](/web/20160919130727im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/v/8/8/h/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gov92r.png/1463273155918.jpg)
Impressive Warriors centre Solomone Kata used slick footwork close to the line to open the scoring.
The scores were level when teammate Shaun Johnson blundered, offloading the ball to nobody when being driven back towards his tryline, gifting a try to Panthers five-eighth Jamie Soward.
Soward converted that try and another to Peachey before a slotting a penalty to put his team eight points ahead.
Possession balanced out and the Warriors capitalised with converted tries to Jonathan Wright and Blake Ayshford to lead 18-14.
That scoreline was unchanged for 30 minutes either side of halftime before Peachey bagged his second off a neat Matt Moylan injection.
Winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak dived across from a blindside play before his goalline intercept sparked a sweeping set which ended with Peachey's hat-trick.
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