Penrith's wobbly NRL premiership tilt has been rocked further by injury with the possibility up to three star forwards will miss this week's do-or-die semi-final.

NSW State of Origin representative Trent Waterhouse is gone for the season, and possibly some of 2011, while Kiwi international Frank Pritchard and rising start Tim Grant are in grave doubt.

Waterhouse tore a pectoral muscle in Saturday night's 24-22 qualifying final loss to Canberra, ruling him out for up to six months.

Pritchard has torn a hamstring and will have an MRI scan on Monday, while Grant will also be checked but appears to have damaged ligaments in the same ankle he suffered syndesmosis in earlier in the season.

If that news wasn't bad enough, linchpin Luke Lewis picked up a minor shoulder injury to go with his calf problems, but is expected to play again this week.

Offsetting the damage to some extent will be the return of captain Petero Civoniceva from suspension and probably fullback Lachlan Coote from a nagging groin injury.

The Panthers missed a golden opportunity to earn a week off with the loss, which was played out in front of a disappointing CUA Stadium crowd of just 16,668.

Coach Matt Elliott said his side was bitterly disappointed but would not find it difficult to regroup.

"That's how it feels at the moment but I'm sure it will feel different on Monday," he said.

"It's disappointing, you want to win, but we'll be right.

"We were probably off our best and we were pretty close to a team that's playing high quality footy."

Elliott, though, has major concerns over the policing of the ruck area, accusing officials of telling him one thing and then carrying out another on the field.

"I've got to ask some questions about that," he said. "It's quite confusing at the moment.

"What we're being told over the telephone and what our players are being told on the field about some of the stuff we're doing in attack and on the ground is entirely different.

"I'm sure that will get a definitive response because I thought got a definitive response this week from two people but the referees' feedback on the field to the players is completely different, absolutely entirely different."

Stand-in skipper Lewis said his side had got no credit from referees Ben Cummins and Steve Lyons for strong defence.

"They say 'dominant' and you're supposed to have a little bit of time to lay on there and slow the rucks down but I didn't think we got any of that, personally," Lewis said.

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