Following two straight losses in which an early lead was eventually squandered, the Warriors had a terrible taste of deja vu when a 12-0 lead disappeared in the blink of an eye.
But they kept Penrith scoreless in the second half and clinched their sixth win in 13 games to move to within two points of the top eight.
However, coach Brian McClennan is unlikely to be enamoured with the efforts of his troops. Playing a side with the worst home record in the competition and shorn of a three-strong Origin contingent, the Warriors made hard work of their two points.
Almost every try could be traced back to a significant error in the build-up. But the Warriors wasted fewer chances and displayed a clinical touch in the second half to eventually run out comfortable victors the side guided by their former coach, Ivan Cleary.
Early in the second half Manu Vatuvei was denied a hat trick of tries by a questionable decision from the video referee but the Warriors were not denied for long. Panther Luke Walsh made an ill-advised decision to chance his arm on the fifth tackle, throwing a loose pass which Konrad Hurrell gratefully grabbed to score his sixth try in four matches.
The Warriors piled on the pressure after re-taking the lead and soon converted their superiority into some breathing room, when Feleti Mateo slipped James Maloney through a gap and the five-eighth used all his strength to stretch over the line.
And, after Penrith threatened to force its way back into the match, Kevin Locke clinched it after converting Mateo's clever kick.
NRL
The scores
Warriors 30 (M Vatuvei 2, K Hurrell, K Locke, J Maloney tries; J Maloney 5 goals)]
Panthers 16 (G Daniela, K Kingston, J Mansour tries; L Walsh 2 goals)
