Skipper Isaah Yeo was less forgiving about his mate’s injury last week and said: “Even when he was going up the tunnel with two trainers either side of him, he realised he could put weight on it by the time he got to the dressing room and was a bit embarrassed.

“He bombed a couple, but to get the walk-off [try], I’m stoked for him.”

Penrith have won another minor premiership with two rounds remaining. They did it without the suspended Nathan Cleary and James Fisher-Harris, as well as the injured Jarome Luai and Scott Sorensen.

They will host the New Zealand Warriors next Friday, in what will double as a minor-premiership party, then rest a heap of players for the final-round trip to Townsville where potential grand final opponents await.

Cleary said he had a plan when it came to resting players.

Penrith had the wobbles coming into the game after losses to Melbourne and Parramatta, and late at Accor Stadium were facing a third defeat in four games.

Souths were humming on the back of Latrell Mitchell, and came after the table-toppers with a try to Campbell Graham, then Johnston’s second in the left corner.

“But we conceded 26 points, and we shouldn’t be conceding 26 points in a game,” Souths coach Jason Demetriou said.

“They were missing their two most creative players [Cleary and Luai], a few [of our] blokes missed their assignment in defence tonight, and that’s what cost us.

“When we get to 22-20, we should put that game away. We’ve had three or four games this year in the dying stages we’ve come up with individual errors and then conceded points. It’s something we need to fix going into big games.”

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Winger Jaxson Paulo had a tough night as he botched two tries, including one in the first half and a simple intercept in the second half. He also failed to pull in a Mitchell cut-out ball, then came up with the crucial dropped ball late in the game that gifted Penrith an attacking set.

Demetriou said young players would soon “understand every error has an impact on the game”, but they should never have allowed Martin to score in the end.

Souths were pushing to draw level with Melbourne on the ladder in equal fourth spot. So congested in the bottom half of the eight that Souths could drop to as low as eighth by Saturday night should Brisbane, Parramatta and the Roosters all win.

The game was billed as the match of the round and it sure did not disappoint.

Only a brave fan would tip against these two meeting again in the first weekend of October.

Souths will know they could have won. Penrith will know they welcome back some key cavalry. Bring on September?