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Manly's three-game NRL winning streak may have come to an end against Penrith in Bathurst, but Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler is adamant their bubble hasn't burst.

The scoreline may have flattered Penrith, but Des Hasler wants Manly to find another level.

The Manly coach welcomed his team's gritty display against Penrith on Saturday, pushing the unbeaten NRL ladder leaders all the way before eventually falling by 12 points.

"I was pleased with their effort. That's all you can ask. But we want to go to that next level. We've got to get more disciplined and stronger in certain parts. which I know we can," Hasler said.

Twice the Sea Eagles were within four points of the Panthers in the second half in Bathurst, and at one stage had their opposition on the ropes for four straight sets on their line.

In the end Penrith's class rose, but not before being given a serious fright.

"To Manly's credit, they never went away. They've got enough good players to be able to make some things happen, and that's certainly what they did," Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said.

It was admirable effort from Hasler's side, particularly given it came just five weeks after collapsing to their heaviest-ever defeat at Brookvale to the same team.

They hadn't lost since, racking up three straight victories, however their two-time premiership-winning coach refused to take solace in their rapid improvement.

"We didn't play well today, by no stretch. We need to improve," Hasler said.

"In saying that, when you don't play well, there are just some parts to the game.. and the parts that we need to fix are the easiest parts.

"Part of the difficulty of it is you've got to be really disciplined and strong and efficient in those areas to compete with sides like Penrith. We do that, and we're in it up to our eyeballs."

The return of Tom Trbojevic from injury has injected some serious belief, with the star fullback again churning out a team-high 191 metres, as well as scoring a try for a third straight game.

His return has rejuvenated skipper and halfback Daly Cherry-Evans, while the eventual return of Dylan Walker, Curtis Sironen and Moses Suli from injury will only add more punch.

While his side were written off following their porous 0-4 start to the season, Hasler is adamant there is enough experience to rise and become a finals contender.

Saturday's loss keeps them just outside the top eight on six points.

"They know (they can compete). There's enough experience there, but you can't be happy to walk away with what we came up with. But we'll keep working on it - signs are positive," Hasler said.