Dylan Edwards stars as Penrith halt NRL losing streak

Fullback Dylan Edwards has inspired Penrith to a hard-fought 18-6 win over the Warriors that brings the reigning premiers' concerning two-game losing streak to a halt at Magic Round.

The Panthers came into round ten following their first back-to-back defeats outside of the State of Origin period since 2019, but resembled themselves more closely on Saturday than in their shock loss to Wests Tigers last week.

Penrith cleaned the errors out of their game, did a better job suffocating their rivals in defence and won the territory battle thanks to Nathan Cleary's kicking game but were still some way from the clinical best of their premiership seasons.

They were constantly rebuffed by a resilient Warriors outfit that drew first blood and were never out of the fight, despite the physicality and passion of the contest twice reducing them to 12 men.

Jackson Ford can expect scrutiny from the match review committee for a hip-drop tackle on Spencer Leniu that forced the back-rower to sit down, and rookie Demitric Sifakula could join him on the charge sheet after running into a fracas to strike Cleary.

Little separated the sides across the 80 minutes but hard-working fullback Edwards helped the Panthers build a 12-6 lead at the half.

He pulled off a try-saving tackle on Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, before stepping through the line and shrugging off two defenders to score at the other end.

Warriors winger Edward Kosi picked up a knee injury as he made a bone-crunching tackle on Stephen Crichton and Edwards picked him out. He forced a drop-out by sending a grubber kick Kosi's way, and in the next set, bamboozled him with quick hands to put Brian To'o over.

Edwards was his reliable self under the high ball and finished with 232 run metres.

Warriors captain Tohu Harris made his presence felt on return from a knee injury, sending Addin Fonua-Blake over with a flat ball that helped the Warriors open the scoring.

Kosi eventually left the field after a high shot from Crichton in the 30th minute and did not return despite passing his head injury assessment, forcing Marcelo Montoya onto the left wing and Marata Niukore to centre.

Another injury concern meant Ford stayed off after his sin-binning, while Watene-Zelezniak also spent time on the sidelines for a HIA.

But with Harris marshalling the middle and Shaun Johnson cleaning his kicking game up in the second half, the wounded Warriors made sure the Panthers were never comfortable.

Tempers threatened to boil over in the last 15 minutes when Cleary floored Warriors forward Josh Curran in a hefty tackle, sparking a fracas between the two sides that culminated in Sifakula's sin-binning.

It wasn't until Leniu, returning from a calf injury, burrowed over in the final five minutes that Penrith were home.