Rookie Luke Hanson kicked a field goal, securing a 45-26 victory for the Warriors over South Sydney, placing the Kiwi team at the top of the NRL standings by the slimmest of margins.
With hooker Wayde Egan orchestrating expertly at Accor Stadium, Andrew Webster's team matched Penrith and the Sydney Roosters, all tied on 38 points, thanks to a 19-point margin.
This win marked the first time a premiership game ended with that specific score, allowing the Warriors (+295) to surpass the Panthers (+294) on point differential after Hanson made a successful 30m field goal at the final whistle in only his second NRL match.
The third-ranked Roosters (+163) hold a game in hand and will be facing Wests Tigers on Sunday.
"As a team we weren't saying let's go kick a field goal because we need to," Webster remarked.
"We said every point's going to matter from here to the end.
"Once we kicked it we knew as staff, but I don't know if the players knew - you'd have to ask Luke, he's a pretty smart guy."
The Warriors will face Newcastle and Manly in their last two rounds, while Penrith is set to play Canterbury and Wests Tigers.
Following their match with the Tigers, the Roosters will compete against the Dolphins and Souths to conclude the regular season.
"It might not be for too long and you only want to be on top at the end," Webster noted.
"That's why we didn't mention for and against between now and then - we could win all the games and it could look different at the end."
While Webster's team strengthened their bid for a first minor premiership since 2002, Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett expressed his frustration.
A victory would have guaranteed a top-eight finish for Bennett's Bunnies, who now need to defeat Gold Coast or the Roosters in their remaining two games to make the finals.
"What's between their ears? We're not real smart at different times out there," Bennett said, also hinting that Latrell Mitchell is likely to return for the match against the Titans.
"I'm talking about the game generally - a lot of things put us under pressure, but I'm never disappointed in the effort."
The Warriors surged to a 26-8 lead by halftime, with tries from James Fisher-Harris, Leka Halasima, Mitchell Barnett, and Chanel Harris-Tavita.
Taine Tuaupiki successfully converted all four tries and added a penalty, while Jayden Sullivan missed conversions for both of Souths' first-half tries by Jack Wighton and Alex Johnston.
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak extended the Warriors' lead in the 45th minute before exiting due to a suspected shoulder injury.
Souths capitalized with tries from Johnston, Cody Walker, and Tallis Duncan during a rapid 12-minute period, with Sullivan converting each try to narrow the Warriors' lead to just six points with 20 minutes remaining.
However, Jacob Laban and Alofiana Khan-Pereira scored to push the Warriors' lead to 18 points, leading to Hanson's decisive field goal late in the game, propelling Webster's side to the top.