‘We won’t be coming last’: Maloney hits back at spoon talk

James Maloney has enjoyed a lot of success during his brilliant career, including two premierships, a third grand final with the New Zealand Warriors, Origins for NSW and Tests with Australia – but he's never gone close to "winning" a wooden spoon.

"And we won't be coming last this year," a defiant Maloney said after Penrith's latest soul-destroying loss to the Warriors. "If you look at our squad it's embarrassing to see where we're at. There's no chance in hell we'll come last.

"Names don't get you results, performances do. That's where we're at, and we need to get out of it.''

To compound a bad night against the Warriors, Maloney was charged with a grade one dangerous contact offence for a late hit on Kodi Nikorima and is facing a one-week ban.

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Unless he can successfully contest the charge at the judiciary, he will miss the western Sydney derby against Parramatta on Thursday and will not play before NSW coach Brad Fittler reads out his side for Origin I on Sunday week.

Penrith have gone from genuine top-four heavyweights to shock contenders for the most-dreaded gong in the game. They have not dropped six straight games since 2002. Their last spoon was 2007.

It is only round ten but their chances of the coming last are not as crazy as you think given Penrith's next month features a road trip down the M4 Motorway to play Parramatta on Thursday night at their new $360 million Bankwest Stadium fortress, a Des Hasler-rejuvenated Manly, the Roosters and then South Sydney.

Potentially the Sea Eagles, without their Origin stars Jake Trbojevic and Daly Cherry-Evans, appear the only chance for two points.

Some bookies now have Penrith $5.50 to run stone motherless.

Maloney has missed a finals series just once in his career, back in 2012 with the New Zealand Warriors, and was in no mood to entertain an early exit with the Panthers. To be fair, Maloney and Nathan Cleary did their best to spark something against the Warriors.

We need to stick solid and stick together. We're the only ones who can fix it.

James Maloney

"I wish there was a magic wand where you wave it and get out of it, but you can't,'' Maloney said.

"We need to stick solid and stick together. We're the only ones who can fix it. Nobody can fix it for us. Well go out and try to do the basics right next week.''

Fittler has a huge soft spot for his former western Sydney club and would have privately hoped the pair had a blinder against the Warriors and taken care of the halves debate for him.

Maloney said "there are massive issues we need to sort out here, so it [Origin] is not something I'm thinking about".