A slow erosion of rugby league players' understanding of a basic rule probably cost Penrith at least one competition point against Gold Coast.

With the scores 24-24 at Pepper Stadium, Penrith's Tyrone Peachey tried to defuse a loose ball in the middle of the field the by placing one hand on it. The Steeden was swept upon by the Titans and within seconds winger Anthony Don had scored the matchwinner.

"At the start, I thought as soon as you put your hand on the ball like Peachey did, the play is dead," winger Josh Mansour told Set of Six.

In fact, that rule only applies in the in-goal. Defensive players used to smother a lolling ball in-goal nonetheless, but over the past couple of decades have taken to nonchalantly neutralising the danger with a pinky.

As in all areas of life, with each generation, more knowledge is lost – until there is a tipping point. And the Panthers paid the price in football terms at Pepper Stadium. "At the end of the day," Mansour admitted, "he should have dived on it."

Going nowhere: Bryce Cartwright is wrapped up on Sunday. Photo: Getty Images

2. The would-be Blues blues

Gold Coast coach Neil Henry admits Penrith's Bryce Cartwright, Tyrone Peachey, Matt Moylan and Josh Mansour may have been left vulnerable by their possible Origin call-ups.

It was something many were thinking on Sunday, but few were willing to say as all four struggled at different times. "I think in patches they were a bit (nervous). They made uncharacteristic errors. That's the media hype around it. They (Penrith) had won three of their last four, they'd been very consistent." Henry said.

"It could be a distraction but on a personal note, for all the boys who've been talked up here for Origin, all week we focused on our job here at the Panthers. It was just one of those days. We didn't turn up, the Titans did," responded Mansour.

Shaun Johnson scores against the Raiders on Saturday night. Photo: Getty Images

3. Warriors become worriers

Andrew McFadden's bake for the Warriors on Saturday night was the worst by any coach this year and deserves to be recorded here without further comment.

"We showed some real softness. We had half a dozen blokes who didn't show the urgency or desire you need to play first grade. It's embarrassing. To be a good defensive team you need trust. There's clearly a lack of trust in our side at the moment. I need to find people who are willing to put their body on the line. The people of Taranaki … they deserve better than that. We'll have another honest talk but it's wearing pretty thin to be honest with you. The talk … it's time for something else."

Nothing to tell: Knights flyer Dane Gagai. Photo: Getty Images

4. No evil heard

Dane Gagai has told Greg Inglis he did not hear the racial abuse which led to an NRL investigation last week. Newcastle announced on Sunday they had been unable to identify the perpetrator of the slurs, used after a 62-0 loss to Cronulla at Hunter Stadium.

"I spoke to him during the week and he didn't hear it so he can't really say anything about it," Inglis told Triple M. "But obviously if it's out there it definitely has to be stamped out. I'm a strong believer in banning (offenders) for life. You see the effect it had on Adam Goodes."

Old hand: Michael Ennis. Photo: Getty Images

5. Penalty sharks

Trent Barrett wanted to say something harsher than this, but stopped himself. The implication, though, was clear: Cronulla are skilled at conning penalties out of referees. "Its hard to get a penalty here at Shark Park," Barrett said.

"Jamie (Lyon) was at the referee a few times. (Andrew) Fifita and Gal (Paul Gallen) and (Michael) Ennis and Lewy (Luke Lewis), they're professionals. They're the best at it. They're the best at getting penalties in the comp. The penalties at the start of the game were rough. A couple of times when we did get a dominant tackle … and you're just expected to get off them. There were some hard ones there – blokes getting run off the ball."

6. Electric dreams

Nice story of the Wests Tigers-Newcastle game about 20-year-old Knights prop Josh King. Because the Knights are propping up the table, you didn't read as much about it as you should have.

"Kingy doesn't train because he works," said coach Nathan Brown. "He only comes once a week because he's on an apprenticeship. Not only our club, he's a good lesson for some of the Tigers players who some weeks turn up and some don't. He doesn't even get to training and he defends better than some people already.

"He's got a good attitude and he wants to do better for the club and himself. He's not coming on on the front foot. He's not playing for the Cowboys or the Broncos or Parramatta. If you really, really want it, it's amazing what you might get."

King - an apprentice electrician - told NRL.com: "I want to be playing rugby league full-time and be training full-time but rugby league doesn't last forever either."