Parramatta teammates have leapt to the defence of Eels playmakers Corey Norman and Mitchell Moses, urging patience after the duo's forgettable first-up effort.
The pair were handed a footballing lesson by a rampant Johnathan Thurston in last week's 32-6 flogging by North Queensland in Darwin.
It was the first time the two had combined and they failed to fire a shot as they were outclassed by the returning Thurston, who ran in one try and set up another three.
With his side in ninth and outside the eight on points differential, coach Brad Arthur said the performance left his No.6 and No.7 with plenty to work on.
Mid-season recruit Moses has been under the spotlight after missing 13 tackles over the last two weeks while Norman will have his second game back from a knee injury against St George Illawarra on Sunday.
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Eels fullback Bevan French said it was unfair to point the finger at Moses and Norman, arguing it wasn't just the halves who had an off night against the Cowboys.
"We worked on it during the week. We can't blame them too much, it was their first game together on the weekend," French said.
"In saying that it wasn't just them that didn't click, it was the majority of us. More than half the squad was off their game on the weekend so we can't put it down to those two."
Utility Brad Takairangi said Moses and Norman should be given time to mould their partnership and the best was still to come.
The pair had just one training session before the Cowboys defeat.
"Already we've had two sessions together this week and they've looked really sharp," Takairangi said.
"Normie has that game under his belt and he's going to be better for it.
"Mitch has been really good, when he came in we were surprised how quickly he picked up our shapes and our calls. He's had a couple of weeks to steer the side around."
