The Raiders will need to snap the best run of form ever seen in the NRL era to secure two points against the Panthers on Friday night.
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Penrith has lost just twice in the past 18 months, one of which happened to be in last year's grand final against the Melbourne Storm.
Otherwise they've been almost perfect since missing out on the finals in 2019 during Ivan Cleary's second stint as coach.
They lost just once en route to last year's decider, only to stumble at the final hurdle.
And they've started season 2021 in scintillating form scoring four wins from four, and conceding just three tries.
"They're dangerous across the whole field Penrith, we've seen what they did all last year and also the start of this year," Raiders co-captain Jarrod Croker said.
"They're a very young side too, they're going to be a strong team for years to come."
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The Raiders hold their own trumps too, particularly in defence following last weekend's 20-4 near shutout of the Gold Coast Titans.
That came after giving up a 21-point lead against the New Zealand Warriors the week prior.
"We were disappointed with the loss and we knew we had to respond against a side that's got a lot of young talent and some powerful, powerful blokes," Croker said.
"I thought the defensive effort was the main response.
"We speak about it all the time, it's what we try to build the jersey on that defence, and that will to work for each other and I thought it was evident there on the weekend.
"It wasn't the prettiest of games but we're happy to win them however we can and we won it on the back of our defence."
Croker's three conversions against the Titans moved him level with Andrew Johns on the NRL's all-time point scoring list.
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
