With three full rounds remaining, the Roosters are in the box seat to win the minor premiership thanks to a two-try showing from Daly Cherry-Evans and an electrifying performance from his halves partner Sam Walker at CommBank Stadium on Thursday night.
Walker this week parked contract extension talks with the club until after their finals campaign and his clear mind helped Trent Robinson's men gain just their second win over Penrith in 14 meetings since the start of 2020.
Cherry-Evans opened and finished the scoring and still looks every bit an NRL player as rumours swirl that the 37-year-old playmaker will head to the Super League for a career swansong next year.
"I knew the way (Walker) was talking in meetings this week he was so clearly focused on this game," Robinson said.
"I am happy for Sammy... I'm happy to be purely focused on the now.
"We won a game tonight but we haven't done anything and we're still fighting for something that we want to get.
"I think people have looked at it as 'does he want to be here or not?' - I think he's hungry for what we're capable of."
The Roosters, who have won their last eight games, face Wests Tigers, the Dolphins and South Sydney to round out their regular season.
Penrith, meanwhile, fell to second and could drop out of the top two by the end of the weekend after being the competition leaders for most of the season.
In their first hit-out since losing captain Isaah Yeo to a pectoral injury, Ivan Cleary's side lacked direction in attack and have now lost five of their past eight games.
"Our execution let us down too often especially at the wrong times," said Ivan Cleary, whose side lost centre Paul Alamoti to a leg injury late on.
"In those games where it can go either way you've got to be a bit better than that."
The Panthers went desperately close to opening the scoring with a 14-pass move putting Brian To'o in the clear to touch down, only for the winger to step in to touch at the last minute.
The Roosters remained camped in their own half until a wayward Nathan Cleary pass fell to Mark Nawaqanitawase to relieve the pressure on Robinson's side.
In an instant, the Tricolours were up the other end and Cherry-Evans burst past a flat-footed Isaiah Papali'i to score in the 20th minute.
Walker converted and the Roosters should feel aggrieved they didn't double their lead as halftime approached when Rob Toia had a try chalked off.
Nawaqanitawase was penalised for a disruptor penalty that Canterbury football manager Phil Gould described in commentary for the Nine Network as "a disgraceful call and a disgraceful rule".
Walker kicked a penalty goal on halftime after a push and shove between Dylan Edwards and Connor Watson to make it 8-0 at the break, condemning Penrith to a scoreless first half for the second week running.
The Panthers were lacking spark, but with 15 minutes left, coach Cleary threw Blaize Talagi on at five-eighth and they immediately reacted to the shake-up.
After pounding the Roosters' line, Lindsay Smith slipped an offload away to fellow forward Moses Leota, who powered over with a 67th-minute try.
Nathan Cleary kicked the conversion to make it 8-6, but the Panthers were unable to come up with a late knockout blow as Cherry-Evans scampered over with a 77th-minute match winner.
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