For the first time in three years, Penrith Panthers have tasted defeat in an NRL match at home, going down 22-20 to Parramatta Eels on Friday night.
With coach Ivan Cleary in hospital for an infected knee, the Panthers let a 14-10 second half lead slip through their fingers and fell to their first loss of the season as the NRL's reigning premiers.
Star halfback Nathan Cleary had the chance to send the match to golden point in the final stages, but his attempted two-point field goal went waywards, and condemned the Panthers to a first home defeat after a run of 21-consecutive wins.
The Eels' victory was made all the more remarkable by the fact it comes just six days after a 35-4 trouncing at the hands of North Queensland Cowboys, only to see Parramatta retake third place on the NRL ladder.
Penrith fullback Dylan Edwards opened the scoring for the home side in just the fourth minute, before the Eels hit back twice through captain Clint Gutherson and hooker Reed Mahoney.
Winger Taylan May scored before the break to level the scores at 10-10, and grabbed a second in the 53rd minute to put the Panthers back into the ascension.
Down but by no means out, interchange Ryan Matterson scored for the Eels as they crept ahead 16-14, before what would ultimately prove to be the match winning play.
A bomb from Mitchell Moses was allowed to bounce by the Panthers, only to be snapped up by five-eighth Dylan Brown, who evaded any defenders to dot down for the Eels' fourth try that left Penrith having to score twice in the final 10 minutes.
The hosts were able to score once more, as Spencer Leniu brought the scores back to 22-20, but it was ultimately too little, too late for the Panthers, who will now have to start another home winning streak from scratch, starting against the Cowboys in three weeks' time.
"I said to the players after the game that in nine years now, that is the proudest I have been in my time at the club," Eels coach Brad Arthur said.
"On the back of four six-day turn-arounds, these guys are a really good football team, they haven't been beaten here for a while, we have only got 19 players out of our 28-man squad available and five blokes who couldn't train during the week because they were crook so it was a great effort."
