He was largely proud of his players’ response to the 54-point loss to Melbourne but Parramatta coach Brad Arthur conceded ‘dumb moments' cost the Eels a bounce-back victory over North Queensland on Saturday night.
The Eels led 10-6 after 63 minutes but tries to Kyle Feldt and Tom Opacic saw the Cowboys steal a 17-10 victory in Townsville.
While Feldt’s four-pointer was the result of a well-worked play down the Cowboys’ right side, Opacic’s match-winner was a self-inflicted wound after George Jennings threw a risky pass 10m out from the Eels’ tryline.
The pass was intended for Blake Ferguson who couldn’t hold on, with Jake Granville swooping on the loose ball before Opacic crashed over from dummy-half.
MORE: Canberra accused of rorting HIA rules as Josh Hodgson stayed on after huge knock | Dragons could net up to $270,000 in salary cap dispensation as Jack de Belin cover, reports |
“We had a chance to win that game and we let ourselves down at the back end with a couple of moments in the game that we didn’t quite get right, and they were some dumb moments really,” Arthur said.
“The effort was great, the attitude to our performance was really positive, but some big moments in the game let us down and it proved costly in the end.”
Asked specifically about Jennings’ brain snap and Ferguson’s dropped catch, Arthur, who labelled his side ‘soft’ after the Storm loss, refused to play the blame game.
“If we had our time over we wouldn’t make that pass but it is what it is,” Arthur said.
“We can’t be blaming individuals but just as a team there was moments in that game we didn’t get right.
“… There was a couple of moments at the end when we got the ball and we were attacking their tryline and we probably needed to just be prepared to try and build some pressure and get another set.”
The second-straight loss leaves the Eels clinging to eighth spot on the NRL ladder.
Arthur's men play struggling Penrith at Bankwest Stadium on Thursday night.
