They were abysmal in the first half and trailed by 19 points at the break before playing rather better in the second half and redeeming themselves with the narrow win.
From the Penrith point of view, there was only one piece of play to report on in the first half and that was the deceptive running of Jamie McNaughton to earn him a brilliant, individual try.
He glided between defenders, threw the suggestion of a dummy and changed direction to beat at least half a dozen defenders to score under the posts.
From a De La Salle point of view, there was a lot to report. They clearly had problems with numbers as they pitched up late with only one replacement.
They did, though, have a simple game plan, stuck to it with gusto, and gave Penrith all sorts of problems with their spirit and aggression.
They scored a try from close-range before McNaughton levelled with his bit of magic and then went on to score another three tries in the first half to lead 26-7.
Penrith started the second half much better and got a try back from a scrum ten metres out when number eight Liam Tunstall broke down the narrow side to feed George Graham who released McNaughton wide on the right. He had a bit to do but his speed and strength saw him go in at the corner.
They added another try in similar circumstances from a scrum in the visitor’s 22 when Graham went down the short side. Full-back Ed Swale was outside him and, once he received the ball, cut back inside and twisted and turned to force his way over the line.
Penrith added their fourth try after quarter-of-an-hour of the second period after Tunstall again broke from the scrum.
This time, he threw the pass directly to McNaughton who picked it up neatly off his toes and went in at the corner unopposed.
Penrith were now within two points but the visitors, in a rare foray into the Penrith half, were successful with a penalty to ease their advantage out to five points.
Penrith were on level terms when they scored their fifth try after the pack drove the Salford men off their own set scrum.
Tunstall (twice), Matt Allinson, Ross Jackson and Jay Rossi were all involved in the move which followed and ended with a Jon Fell try, converted by Allinson.
Penrith looked to have sealed it with five minutes to go when they shunted the Salford eight over their own line for Dan Greenwood to score.
They now led by nine points but that still left time for De La Salle to go again and, thanks to a series of silly mistakes and penalties, they were in a try-scoring position from close-range which they accepted to score a fifth try and with it collect two bonus points that De La Salle had thoroughly deserved.
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