A season that starts in the first week of March and climaxes on the first day of October is just enough time to start as equal premiership favourites, lose a handful of matches, dump players for off-field misbehaviour, deny theories about a "crisis", shuffle on players to other clubs mid-season and then suddenly strike form and win seven straight just as the finals loom.

That's the story so far for the Panthers, whose thrilling 26-22 win in Canberra on Sunday not only ended the Raiders' hopes of playing in the finals but also confirmed their own survival heading into September. Seven wins in a row. Penrith haven't done that since 2003, when they last won the premiership.

They actually won this game twice, having blown a 20-10 half-time lead. Canberra led by two points with 20 minutes to play before Panthers rookie Tyrone May wrestled over from dummy half with seven minutes to go.

In the end, Canberra's season was killed off in the final play of the final minute when a cross-field kick connected with winger Jordan Rapana but he couldn't get the pass inside to Dave Taylor with the try line inches away. Instead, he knocked it on. Sums up Canberra's season, really. We'll get to Ricky Stuart in a minute.

"Extremely proud," Penrith coach Anthony Griffin said afterwards. "It was going to get really ugly coming down here with penalty counts and the size and the strength of the opposition. It turned out exactly how we thought ... We had a chance to win it today in our own right and then we had to win it again. That's hard to do; to win tight games of football twice."

Sitting next to Griffin was captain Matt Moylan. Earlier this year, speculation swirled about how happy he was at the club.

He'd been dumped for breaking curfew during an away trip to Melbourne. While a couple of sneaky beers weren't a good look from the captain, there were greater concerns about his attitude. Moylan was also telling plenty of people around that time that he wasn't comfortable with the captaincy. It just wasn't him. When he returned to the side, the Sharks embarrassed Penrith 28-2 at Pepper Stadium. Afterwards, Moylan was on the verge of tears as he ducked pointy questions from the press.

Cut to GIO Stadium on Sunday and he was talking with the enthusiasm of Bindi Irwin after too many Red Bulls. He highlighted the moment that illustrates how the Panthers have turned it around.

In the second half, Canberra fullback Jack Wighton fielded a kick on his own try line and then, as he so often does, twisted and turned and broke free. He charged down the left touchline, passing Penrith players like they were Sunday afternoon drivers. A try loomed but then two large shadows fell upon him: props James Tamou and Reagan Campbell-Gillard hunted him down and brought him to heel.

"We're working together and for each other," Moylan said. "You saw with the kick-chase. Wighton made the break and you've got our two front-rowers chasing him down."

Penrith are now sixth on the ladder with 30 points with two rounds to play. Canberra are 10th on 24 points and while those above them - the Dragons, Cowboys and Sea Eagles - are wobbling around like the drunkest blokes at the party, their season is effectively over.

To be brutally honest, they don't deserve to play finals footy. "We have been trying to play football how people wanted to watch us play," Stuart said before the match, referring to his side's style from last season when they played second-phase, ad-lib footy with angry, monstrous forwards that captured the game's imagination.

Much like Penrith, the Raiders were the team the game needed to win. The team to break us all free from this wrestling purgatory the poor old fan finds him or herself in every week. That's what makes the season feel like a grind: slow, stodgy, boring-as-batshit rugby league.

This year, though, it hasn't worked for Canberra. They've been too sloppy with the ball, they've failed to complete sets, they have rarely gathered any momentum.

For this reason, they drift in and out of games and this one against Penrith was no different.

The Panthers would score and then the Raiders, off the back of frightening runs from the likes of Josh Papalii and Dave Taylor - usually at little Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary - would hit back. But as soon as they found their mojo, they lost it again. Asked straight up what the loss meant for his side's season, Stuart wasn't in the mood for leading questions.

"I'm not thinking about it that way, mate," he said.

What went wrong?

"I was really pleased with the way we got back into the game. We shouldn't have been allowed to get back into it. There were three tries there we were disappointed with way they scored them. We're better than that."

What does he put it down to? "One of those days, mate. Doesn't always happen."

Surprised at how they came at you, today?

"No."

You looked like you had all the ascendancy after Aidan Sezer kicked that 40-20 ...

"You're right. Unfortunately we didn't. Some weeks you do, other weeks you don't."

Last season they had it, this season they do not.