The victory celebrations after crushing the Dolphins were less than an hour old when South Sydney five-eighth Cody Walker turned his attention squarely to the Rabbitohs' recent nemesis.
The Rabbitohs host Penrith at Accor Stadium on Thursday night in the ultimate grudge match.
Walker was the star in the 36-14 win over the Dolphins on Thursday with three try assists and a try but he knows that if the Rabbitohs are to break through for a first title win in nine years they must close the gap on the back-to-back premiers.
He said the first place to begin was with the team's start to games and their effort areas, which were poor against the Dolphins and resulted in the Rabbitohs' trailing 14-6 at the break
"With Penrith, we understand that if we start poorly against them they can hurt us," Walker said.
"The improvement in us is starting earlier and getting our kick-chase on because their back five is dangerous with the footy.
"Once we were able to put the pressure on the Dolphins and put them deep inside their half, that allowed us to play the style of footy we want to play.
"In the second half for six or seven sets in a row they didn't even touch the ball. That is when we are at our best. We just need to find the improvement in that in the first half. The pleasing thing about it is that we found it. The challenge is to find it earlier."
Eight of the last 13 games between the Rabbitohs and Panthers have been decided by six points or less.
The Rabbitohs have only won two games in that period, the last being a 16-10 victory in the qualifying final in 2021 only to lose 14-12 in a heartbreaker three weeks later in the grand final.
The Panthers prevailed 16-10 five weeks ago in Penrith and Walker said to turn that around the side must limit the effectiveness of maestro half Nathan Cleary.
"We are always so close when we play against them. We are always in the game but we just need to find little improvements in our game where our effort areas are high," Walker said.
"I think trying to keep them inside their half is the key to beating them. Easier said than done because of the talent they have. If you give too much opportunity for Cleary to get out of his end, he has got one of the best attacking kicking games in the comp.
"I love playing against the best of the best in the NRL and I love the challenge in front of us. I am very excited about next week."
Walker's form was scintillating against the Dolphins and led coach Jason Demetriou to label him "the best five-eighth in the game" when on song.
