Daniel Anderson has refused to accept tiredness or its missing stars as a reason for this weekend's loss against the Sharks bagging his side for their lack of "mental application".
"We were beaten at almost every contest throughout the whole game," Anderson said at the post-match press conference.
"We got a considerable amount of luck in the first half with bounces and richochets and we took the opportunities, but we didn't earn the 18 points and the second half we just didn't play very well."
"The opposition beat us to the punch. I thought they walked us down the field in the middle, I think we struggled to get quick play the balls and they dominated ruck and position."
Asked if the tough Manly game had taken something out of the Eels, Anderson simply wrote it off as an "excuse".
"No excuses - we were beaten by a team that had a better attitude simple as that," he said.
The fact that the defeat came upon the side's return to their home ground made the lack of effort even more frustrating, Anderson said.
"We've scrapped and battled away from home and battled the last four games and it's dissapointing to come back home after five weeks and just play like we should have got the two points without competing."
Nor was Anderson about to wear the fact that Jarryd Hayne was missing as an acceptable excuse, either.
"It was a bad attitude - it doesn't matter who plays."
Anderson appauded Sharks halves Trent Barrett and Tim Smith who he said "toyed with us most of the game".
"They got a lot of space from their forward pack who scrapped and battled better than the Parramatta fowards."
"We were eratic on the edges and a little selfish in our decision making."
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