The Penrith Panthers beat St George Illawarra 13-12 with a golden point field goal on Monday night, ending a run of eight straight losses at home.
The win seemed to vindicate coach Ivan Cleary's controversial decision to drop the New South Wales centre Michael Jennings to reserve grade.
But the former Warriors coach denied his decision to axe Jennings had been a wake-up call to the rest of his squad, saying it was only a matter of time until they ended their wretched run of results.
Penrith remain second to last in the 16-team competition.
The New Zealand Warriors are eighth after round 10.
