Both sides were generous in possession and on defence, and almost every try could be traced back to a significant error in the build-up.
But the Warriors were the less wasteful of the two sides and displayed a clinical touch in the second half to eventually run out comfortable victors against former coach Ivan Cleary.
As in their last two games the Warriors jumped out to an early lead but, as in their last two games, it didn't last.
The visitors were 12-0 to the good after 15 minutes, owing their advantage to a simple formula - a Shaun Johnson kick creating a Manu Vatuvei try.
The deadlock was broken by a relatively innocuous Johnson bomb, with Panthers fullback Lachlan Coote miscuing a straightforward catch and allowing Vatuvei - ironically, the subject of much criticism due to errors of his own - to pounce.
The Warriors' second arrived soon after but owed far more to flair than fortune, as Johnson's inch-perfect grubber gave Vatuvei another simple finish.
But, if Brian McClennan has been unhappy with his players taking their foot of their opponents' throat, the coach would have been apoplectic with what he saw next.
The Warriors looked set to add to their advantage after Ben Matulino intercepted an errant pass from Travis Burns, but just seven minutes later Penrith were in front.
First, Maloney had a pass of his own picked off by Josh Mansour who ran 80 metres untroubled to pull one back, before Kevin Kingston levelled the game after the Warriors' defence couldn't contain Luke Walsh.
And it got worse for the Warriors when a missed tackle from Konrad Hurrell saw their defence overrun on the right, allowing Geoff Daniels to cross untouched.
The halftime whistle, rather mercifully, sounded to provide a much-needed change in momentum which saw the Warriors start the second spell the stronger side.
Vatuvei was denied his hat-trick by a questionable decision from the video referee but the Warriors weren't denied for long. Walsh made an ill-advised decision to chance his arm on the fifth tackle, throwing a loose pass which 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 Maloney through a hole and the five-eighth used all his strength to stretch over the line.
And, after Penrith threatened to force their way back into the match, the returning Kevin Locke clinched it after converting Mateo's clever kick.
Panthers 16 (Mansour, Kingston, Daniels tries; Walsh 2 cons)
Warriors 30 (Vatuvei 2, Hurrell, Maloney, Locke tries; Maloney 5 cons)
HT: 16-12
