Since they were stunned by Parramatta’s three tries in seven minutes back in June, Penrith haven’t made the same mistakes again.

After leading 10-0 at halftime, the Panthers switched off midway through the second half at Bankwest Stadium and the Eels pounced.

Coach Ivan Cleary says the side was treading water without delivering the knockout punch and it cost them a 16-10 loss when Waqa Blake, Clint Gutherson and Ryan Matterson all struck within minutes.

Heads spinning, it was a lesson in ruthlessness the Panthers have not needed to learn twice.

It was their only loss for the season and sparked an incredible run of 12 NRL wins.

“We learnt a good lesson out of that game against the Eels,” Cleary said ahead of Friday night’s rematch at Panthers Stadium.

“We did pretty well for most of the game.

“We were treading water for a while there and they struck three times in a short space of time when they had momentum and we couldn’t handle that momentum they had.

“We learned a lot of out that game and used that experience to our advantage over the last three months.”

Since then both sides have evolved, but the Panthers have become premiership favourites sitting at the top of the NRL ladder.

The Eels, while almost unstoppable at the start of the season, have now lost two of their last four games, including a 38-0 thrashing by South Sydney.

They will also be without five-eighth Dylan Brown and hooker Reed Mahoney for Friday night’s clash, which looms as one of the biggest games of the year.

But despite it all, Cleary and the Panthers are still wary of what the Eels can do.

“I’m not really overly worried about what their form has been like over the last month or so,” he said.

“It’s probably more what they’re capable of with the side they’ve got.

“There’s plenty of firepower there. They’ve got experience and physically a strong team.

“They’re a formidable side.

“Having said that, we’re pretty confident in what we can deliver.”