Out-of-sorts and on the verge of plunging to a 15-year low, 22 points down at half-time and jeered off the ground by sections of their own fans, some of whom had spilled for the exits to avoid the Mulgoa Road car park and couldn't get away fast enough.
Over to you Anthony Griffin. Really think your Panthers could win from there?
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Panthers stun Warriors with comeback
Penrith staged their second biggest comeback and consigned the Warriors to their worst collapse, scoring 20 unanswered second half points after trailing 28-6 at halftime.
"What do you want me to say? No? Sometimes you guys react [to scoreboard pressure] more than we do," Griffin deadpanned, the coach's typical poker face giving nothing away.
"We were always talking about winning the game at half-time, we weren't giving it up or laying down."
The only problem was the turnstiles – both off the field and occasionally men dressed in black impersonating them on it – were telling a different story.
Whether it was a magic spray in the sheds – and not the one used to miraculously heal injured players – that worked the trick, you'll never be quite sure with Griffin.
Matt Moylan's smirk might have told a story in itself when his coach was asked about his choice of half-time words.
But what is certain is the team tipped to go all the way in March and almost out of contention two weeks into May is suddenly back in the picture after smashing all types of records with a miraculous comeback against the Warriors, the enigma of all enigmas.
Trailing 28-6 at the break, the Panthers chalked up the second biggest comeback win in the club's history – and best since the 2000 miracle against the Wests Tigers before the Olympic Games had even come to town – to stun the Warriors 36-28 at Pepper Stadium on Saturday.
It was also their 500th win in the top grade, now noted for also being the Warriors' biggest NRL collapse as they remain winless this side of the Tasman in 2017.
But that was only a side story to the Panthers, who stared down the barrel of a sixth straight loss that would have been their longest losing stretch since 2002. And came out the other side. Remarkably, with time to spare.
"There's no lack of belief in our guys," Griffin said. "We're just finding ways to get ourselves a long way behind on the scoreboard at the moment. It takes a real team effort and tough team to come off the canvas like that. We knew we had that in us."
The second of Isaah Yeo's double early in the second half might have been seen as a trickle. It quickly turned into a flood. Four tries in 12 minutes seized the most improbable lead with a quarter of the game to go.
And Tyrone Peachey, glued to the bench for the first half, scored the sealer with five minutes left.
An angry coach at the break?
"Oh yeah, I suppose every coach would be angry at half-time with that score," laughed Penrith winger Peta Hiku. "He held himself [together] pretty good actually from what I've experienced [though].
"He came out and said something different. He just said, 'if we come back from this it shows how much power in the team we have'. It gave us a lot of hope. We felt a lot different."
Added Griffin: "Whenever you're chasing a lead like that, the hardest one to get is your first one to get on a roll. Once we got that first one it just gives them confidence and belief."
The Panthers were frighteningly good and bad in equal measures. Meanwhile, the Warriors were just the Warriors, world beaters one minute and worryingly woeful the next after profiting from Waqa Blake's first-half sin binning.
"Every week's a wake-up call for us," Warriors coach Stephen Kearney said. "When you get in this competition and into a position like we did at half-time [you need to close the game out]. Very disappointing."
The result – helped by former Warriors ballboy Nathan Cleary's faultless goalkicking – at least spared the Panthers the ignominy of a week of wooden spoon headlines against NRL cellar dwellers Newcastle.
Yeo sparked the frenzied comeback. Bryce Cartwright laid on two tries to make up for a first-half intercept that resulted in Blake dragging down David Fusitu'a, then dragging himself off for a rest for 10 minutes. And an inspired Moylan put them ahead for good.
Their coach didn't have to do a double take. He knew it was possible all along. If only those down the road had thought the same.
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