Crunch time is coming for Penrith, with data showing teams who start the NRL season with a 1-5 record are more likely to finish with the spoon than in the finals.
Penrith lead a list of four sides who enter round six with only one win from five games, alongside the Dolphins, Sydney Roosters and Parramatta.
The Roosters have a crunch trip to Brisbane coming on Friday against the Broncos, while Parramatta play Canberra in Darwin.
Penrith and the Dolphins face off in a crucial Thursday night clash in Brisbane, with a bleak picture awaiting the losers.
Never in the 117-year history of premiership football in Australia has a team recovered from a 1-5 start to win the title.
And even making the finals is difficult, with only 15 per cent of teams in the NRL era doing so with such a poor record.
Since 1998, there have been 45 occasions that a team has managed one win from their first six games.
Seven of those teams have made finals, and none have reached the grand final. In comparison, ten have gone on to claim the wooden spoon.
But Penrith have their own history to lean on, as one of only three sides in history to win four premierships straight.
"I'm so confident in the playing group that is here and the footy we can produce," prop Matt Eisenhuth told AAP.
"History says we know the style of footy that works for us. And when we get it right it works. So it's just a matter of us getting it right.
"I am confident it is within us. It's not panic stations."
Penrith are by no means a wooden-spoon threat, yet the data shows how difficult the road ahead is for them.
But there is hope for the four-time defending premiers.
They are due to get fullback Dylan Edwards back from a groin strain against the Dolphins, while Scott Sorensen will return from a concussion.
Of other star-studded teams to start a season so poorly, the 2005 St George Illawarra side recovered to finish second.
Defending-premiers Brisbane advanced to the 1999 finals from 1-5, but both they and the 2005 Dragons ran out of puff and couldn't reach the decider.
Only the 1930 St George side has made a grand final after going 1-5, and they were beaten by South Sydney in the decider.
Yet multiple clubs have recovered from a 2-4 record to still lift the trophy.
"Everyone might be saying this or that about this team," Sorensen said.
"But at the end of the day, everyone is just as motivated as ever and really keen to play some good footy and start getting the results.
"This is a challenge. This is exciting. We're not happy with where we're at and individually as a team you want to succeed."
