Parramatta coach Brad Arthur was pleased to escape with victory in Brisbane but was quick to tell his troops they'll need to improve as a date with the red-hot Melbourne looms.
The Eels were ordinary in the first half at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night, completing just 10 of 19 sets as last year's wooden spooners ran in three tries to lead 16-0.
Once they found their feet the Eels did enough to prevail 24-16 in an entertaining, end-to-end game that proved the composure in Arthur's men.
But Thursday's clash with the Storm, who were breathtaking in the early stages of their own NRL win a night earlier, is already on Arthur's mind.
"That was talked about straight away; but we can get back and relax, dust ourselves off and get ready to go again," he said.
"We know we're up against a quality opposition, but we need to focus on what sort of team we want to look like and that first half was nowhere near it.
"It's a better result than not getting the job done, but we've still got a lot of work to do and we can't afford to give up that sort of lead in the first half."
Hooker Reed Mahoney and bench forward Isaiah Papali'i were instrumental in the comeback.
Mahoney scooted through a slow Brisbane defence for their first try while Papali'i made 27 tackles and earned 180 metres - 77 of those after contact from 19 runs.
"(Reed) was very effective and he waited for the right opportunities ... he's worked hard on himself physically.
"And our bench weren't fantastic last week in our trial but he's been a real find for us, is a great kid, worked hard and I really enjoy coaching him."
