Head Coach David Preston had targeted his side with taking ten points from the two remaining games before Christmas against two of the sides struggling in the league's drop zone. Warrington, who were first up, had only just won their first game of the season the week before their visit to Winters Park but were too prove a much stiffer task than some of Preston's side appreciated, they eventually did get their win and four try bonus point but it didn't look on the cards in the first half.
The game started pretty much as expected with Penrith pinning the visitors back in their own 22 looking for the opening score, it soon became apparent the home players thought this was going to be a stroll as they all seemed to have white line fever going for the score themselves and not relying on teamwork, they blew several chances where a couple of sharp passes would have opened up the gaps. Whatever the visitors were or weren't they were up for it and certainly up for an arm wrestle and their defence was sound throughout.
The Cumbrians did open the scoring but only when they saw fit to move the ball wide when Fraser Nicolson found Dylan Cowperthwaite wide on the right wing and he went in at the corner. The penny hadn't dropped though and as the half progressed they played into the visitor's hands, they conceded too many penalties allowing them field position and the chance to slow the game to their pace, they gave turn over ball away too easily. Warrington spent long periods in possession and got back into the game when they were gifted first possession and then a penalty which they kicked to reduce the deficit to two points.
The visitors then took the lead, they hoisted a towering kick which the wind carried into the Penrith 22, it was allowed to bounce and bounced kindly for the attacking side as it bounced back into one of the chasers' hands. He was brought to ground but with the home defence on the retreat a powerful charge through the middle saw the midfield part and an easy try scored, the conversion saw the relegation threatened side with a 10-5 lead.
Penrith did rally as the half came to a close, they did get over the line but were held up, they then looked more likely to score than not from the resulting 5m scrum but didn't quite manage but from a lineout on the 22 they did level the scores. Good possession was moved into midfield where Scott Lancaster made good ground with some determined running and then the ball went wide where the home side were at their most dangerous and Jay Rossi squeezed over in the corner.
Penrith turned around rather fortunately on level terms and it was no less than the visitors deserved, the second half however was a different matter all together. The home side found a bit of direction and played much better rugby and although far from perfect kept Warrington on the back foot for almost the entire half as they eased themselves, eventually, to a comfortable win and that bonus point.
Penrith had introduced newcomer Mason Lewthwaite at the break into the inside centre berth and he was instrumental in the home side's third try and impressed throughout. From a scrum 30m out George Graham set him up for a charge into the visitor's midfield, the ball was then recycled several times as Graham at scrum half marshaled his troops until they were on the line, Graham then looked as if he was going to snipe himself but cleverly fed the ball back inside to Adam Howe on the hoof who barreled over.
Minutes later another piece of concerted Penrith play and long period of possession saw them phase be phase make ground and saw them camped on the visitor's line, this time it was Graham himself who claimed the try as he saw the gap on the right of the ruck and took full advantage.
There was still quarter of the game to go but that was the result about put to bed, as the game went into the last ten minutes it got a bit fractious and bad tempered, Josh Dowson had to be withdrawn after a poor head high tackle and when Nicolson was taken out late after launching the ball into the Warrington 22 the home side took an attacking scrum from the penalty where the ball had landed. The home scrum had been steady all afternoon and enabled Tom Lindsay, now at No8 for the injured Dowson to break down the blindside, he found Graham on the outside and he in turn put Cowperthwaite away on the wide outside for a simple run in and to put the game completely out of sight.
It had been far from copybook rugby but it was job done, five points won after a poor start and they now travel to third from bottom Bowden hoping to repeat the trick.