Parra placing heavy emphasis on showdown with Sharks

Parramatta forward Tepai Moeroa believes a successful visit to Shark Park on Saturday night will give the Eels an accurate gauge of their top eight prospects.

The Eels snapped a three-game losing streak with a 12-point win over an Origin-depleted South Sydney last week, but the win came with a level of uncertainty from Channel Nine commentator Phil Gould, who declared Parra wouldn't make the finals given their roller coaster form in the first half of the season.

Brad Arthur's men started the year with two wins, then beat a Sharks outfit in round four missing several big names, and later a Dragons side who lost Corey Norman in the first half.

Their other win, on Easter Monday against the Wests Tigers, was almost forgotten about after they were thumped 64-10 by Melbourne three weeks later.

Parra's indifferent form will be put to the test in Saturday night's rematch with the Sharks.

"If we put in the effort [that we put in] against the Rabbitohs the footy will take care of itself," Moeroa said on Monday.

"I don't think the scoreboard matters if you win by one point or 50 points – two competition points is two points. We want to win the four games in a row at the end of the year."

Cronulla are expected to name their strongest line up in months with Shaun Johnson and Wade Graham set to return from injury.

"They're very good at grinding, they get a lot of scrappy wins from grinding teams out and putting them to bed," Moeroa said of the Sharks.

"It will be good competition for us and good to build on last week's game to get an 80-minute grind. Hopefully it sets us up for the season."

Eels centre Michael Jennings identified the next month leading into the bye as "crucial" if the club wants to be alive in September.

Parramatta will host the Broncos at home before a trip to Darwin against the Raiders.

"We've got three big weeks going into the bye, we're looking at stringing a few wins together," Jennings said.

"There was a lot of pressure on us after three losses. It's just about not being complacent, it's an attitude thing. We've got a few young fellas. We can get a bit caught up with all the off-field noise.

"Our older guys need to lead the boys around. We haven't been doing that."