Eels can tussle for title: Arthur

Parramatta have scored fewer points than any other top-four National Rugby League side this season but coach Brad Arthur is not concerned with attack as long as their defence remains solid.
It comes after the toughness of the side was called into question following a two-point loss to lowly St George Illawarra over the weekend.
Over the past six weeks, the Eels’ biggest winning margin was 10 points.
But they have toughed out three more wins by six points or less and two close losses by less than four.
It is this defensive toughness that Arthur insists is needed to win a premiership.
“That was the thing we had to improve this year from last year, our best and worst performances and we’ve narrowed that gap right down,” he said ahead of tonight’s clash with Melbourne (7.50pm kick-off).
“There’s a couple of points in the games that we’ve lost, but the games over the last four or five matches we’ve hung on to win through grittiness and the toughness in our defence because we haven’t been firing on all cylinders with our attack.”
The third-placed Eels have scored more than 24 points five times this season, but have conceded the same total in just two matches against last year’s runners-up Canberra and defending champions Sydney Roosters.
And even then, their only loss was against the Roosters 24-10 in round six after they scrapped to beat the Raiders 25-24. Arthur takes responsibility for the drop off in attack, saying he has been more focused on what the side does without the ball with six weeks to go before the finals.
“It’s proven that if you want to be a top-four team, you need to get your defence right and that’s the tough part of the game,” he said.
The Eels have the second-best defence in the competition behind Melbourne and a sharper edge will be key at Bankwest Stadium in Sydney tonight.
In the two matches played last season, Craig Bellamy’s men outscored Eels 96-10, including a 32-0 rout in the semifinals to knock them out of the title race. Even without Storm stars Cameron Smith, Cameron Munster, Suliasi Vunivalu and Dale Finucane, Melbourne are dangerous.
“Does it surprise me? No,” Arthur said of Storm’s success despite mass injuries.
“They bring players in and they just know what they’ve got to do and they’re held accountable for it.
“It’s a really good opportunity for us tomorrow night because we know we’re coming up against the best.” – AAP