Penrith's mission for NRL premiership redemption started with a bang on Saturday night as they thoroughly outclassed North Queensland 24-0.
In front of a roaring crowd at Panthers Stadium, last year's runners-up had the ball on a string with halfback Nathan Cleary commanding the four-try victory.
It was a captain's knock for the first-time co-captain, who produced two try-assists, two line-breaks and a 40-20 late in the second half to turn up the pressure on the Cowboys.
A short ball for Kurt Capewell put the Panthers on the board seven minutes in, but resilient Cowboys defence held out as they battered the line in the first half.
However, the resolve crumbled midway through the second half with Dylan Edwards and Brian To'o crashing through tired defenders to take the result beyond doubt.
The cherry on top was a 62nd minute try to Isaah Yeo, who easily scored when Liam Martin climbed above the defence to catch a perfectly weighed kick from his fellow co-captain Cleary.
Charlie Staines, known by teammates as the Forbes Ferrari, was kept try-less for the first time in his three NRL games.
The 20-year-old was brought in to replace Josh Mansour on the right wing this season and went hunting for a seventh career four-pointer in heavy traffic.
Valentine Holmes denied him with a flying tackle driving him into touch in the first half, while opposite winger Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow did the same midway through the second half.
Despite the comprehensive scoreline, the round one encounter was error-riddled by both sides.
The Cowboys had 18 for the match, most of which were basic handling problems.
Kyle Feldt kicked two restarts out on the full, while halfback Jake Clifford had a miserable night with several forward passes.
New coach Todd Payten followed through with his pre-season promise to reduce Jason Taumalolo's minutes, hoping to produce quality over quantity.
However, the Cowboys wrecking ball was kept to just 55 runnings metres in 50 minutes on the field.
His two 25-minute stints were well below his past four-season average of 60 minutes a game.
And with just one line-break for the side for the night, Payten will go back to the drawing board for their round two game against St George Illawarra next Saturday.