To win at Penrith these days, everything needs to go your way. And lady luck wasn't smiling on the courageous Canberra Raiders on Friday.
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The final scoreboard read 30-10. It was Penrith's 22nd win in 23 games, their 12th straight at home, and another statement to the league that last year's beaten grand finalists are very much the team to beat.
It was also a match Raiders co-captain Josh Hodgson failed to finish, going off with 15 minutes left with what seemed to be a hip flexor injury.
For Ricky Stuart's men this was the first genuine litmus test of 2021, the litmus test of the NRL, a realm ruled by a raucous Penrith side these days. And Ivan Cleary's troops are renowned for running riot.
They weren't allowed to by the luckless Raiders, who had the better of this game until fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad went off with a concussion, compounded by a failed HIA.
But Penrith still controlled the moments that mattered, and left another rival club in their wake with seemingly consummate ease
"We're not good enough yet," Stuart said.
"There's lots of little things you can look at, you've just got to toughen up and face the facts. We were beaten by a better football team.
"It [losing Nicoll-Klokstad] shouldn't be an excuse, I'm happy with Elliott [Whitehead] in the centres, that's what happens when you lose an outside back. Rapa's played fullback before he did a good job there tonight I thought he tried really hard."
Moments before Nicoll-Klokstad went off, co-captain Jarrod Croker looked to have built on Jack Wighton's early try, but the bouncing ball frustratingly evaded his attempts to ground it. Another stroke of misfortune, although Croker will be filthy with himself for not making it count.
That would've put a floundering Penrith on the ropes and sent Stuart's men on the way to an impressive upset at the foot of the mountains. But that was a different script, for a different night, quite possibly in September.
For both these sides should be there at the pointy end this season.
And there are scores to be settled after a fiery affair in Sydney's west, watched by the 1991 premiership winning Panthers side which downed Canberra in the grand final 30 years ago.
It was a sellout of 20,000 plus and these Penrith supporters were having fun, taunting their Raiders counterparts with several second-half renditions of their own version of the Viking Clap.
Stuart wasn't having as much fun, forced to make some running repairs to his backline after Nicoll-Klokstad was grounded.
Jordan Rapana went to fullback, Croker stepped out to the wing and Elliott Whitehead switched to centre.
Then another stroke of misfortune. Rapana galloped backwards to clean up, rendering himself a prone target for Panthers danger man Viliame Kikau.
He went in for seconds after completing the tackle on Rapana, Hudson Young took exception, and then referee Gerard Sutton disagreed with Canberra's handling of the situation.
Penalty Penrith. Turning point.
Moments later Charlie Staines scored his first.
Then Jarome Luai stepped up and shredded the Raiders twice before halftime - firstly with a sweet cutout ball to Matt Burton, and then with a grubber in behind on the stroke of the break.
Stuart's Raiders bravely battled on in the second half, and Croker scored a deserved try on the left wing at the end of a rapid backline on 60 minutes.
But their luck was out.
Staines' second was one for the highlights reel, but could easily have never materialised had Paul Mimorovski's no-look flick pass speared out at a different angle. Again, the rugby league Gods smiled on the home side.
Cleary's late try summed it up, when his opposing number seven George Williams put the ball on his chest allowing the Penrith superstar to run away untouched and score under the posts.
That wasn't bad luck. It indicated there is still a gap between the Raiders and Penrith.
But it's still only round five, and Canberra's run of good luck is still yet to come in 2021.