Arthur proud of embattled Eels

Parramatta coach Brad Arthur says he's proud of the way his players have dealt with ongoing speculation the Eels will be stripped of premiership points for alleged salary-cap breaches.

Latest talk has the NRL being set to dock Parramatta of eight to 10 competition points, which would send the Eels plummeting from equal second to last on the table.

"Look, it's not great, but it's the situation and we've got to deal with it," Arthur said before the Eels flew out of Sydney on Friday bound for Townsville and a showdown with reigning premiers North Queensland on Saturday night.

"I'm really proud; the boys have done a tremendous job of shutting it out and just playing football.

"That's what they do best and that's all they can really worry about.

"If it drags on for two weeks, 10 weeks, we can't change our approach to what we've got to do."

Eels superstar Kieran Foran has called on a quick resolution from the league, one way or another, while Melbourne captain Cameron Smith wants the NRL to take its time before making any decisions to ensure Parramatta players have every chance of avoiding experiencing the same despair the Storm endured in 2010.

"My preference is to worry about the Cowboys this week," Arthur said.

"The NRL when they're ready, they'll let us know what they want to do and we'll deal with it."

Former Parramatta winger Reece Robinson, meanwhile, is backing the Eels to overcome any potential loss of competition points and still make the finals.

"The boys have been performing real well out there. I've been excited to see them winning but if it comes down to that it'd be pretty disappointing," said Robinson, now playing Super Rugby for the NSW Waratahs after leaving the Eels at the end of 2015.

"It's a pretty hard situation for the boys. They can't do much about it.

"Even if they lose a few points, I'm sure they'll still have the opportunity to make the finals so it's going to be good."