The Penrith Panthers have booked their place in the second week of the NRL finals series with a grinding win in horrid conditions over the New Zealand Warriors.
Tasked with travelling to Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland for an elimination final, the four-time premiers were faced with wind and rain, and it was a tight first half before the Panthers were able to run away with the contest in the second stanza.
The Warriors simply struggled to find their way across the tryline throughout the game, with the Penrith defence answering the task time and time again, while errors from the home side didn't help either.
Errors started early from the Warriors, who, after receiving a penalty in their first set, failed to find touch.
Penrith then forced a drop out - the first of plenty in a superb kicking game put together by Nathan Cleary and Blaize Talagi - and looked to have scored a penalty try in the corner the next set, only for the bunker to deny them.
Penrith then took over the mistake making, with the Warriors kicking a penalty goal in the ninth minute to open the scoring off a couple of knock-on errors from the visitors.
It was then that the game settled into a rhythm, albeit with mistakes from both sides, before the Panthers scored the opening try through Isaiah Papali'i who burst through the line to score against soft defence.
The try couldn't be answered by the Warriors. Despite the fact they had controlled much of the territory through the opening exchanges, they spent the last 15 or so minutes of the first half on the back foot with Cleary kicking the side to death.
The Panthers scored shortly after halftime, extending their lead to 12-2, and while a Leka Halasima try would keep the Warriors alive through the second half, it wasn't enough.
Mistakes continued to invite the visitors onto the front foot, with Halasima, who had been among the Auckland-outfit's best, involved in two of them.
The men from the foot of the mountains scored a pair of tries in six minutes through Casey McLean on a sweeping play, and Brian To'o off an exceptional kick to put the game away, and will now clash with the Canterbury Bulldogs at Homebush next Saturday night in the second week of the finals.