Parramatta playmaker Mitchell Moses admits his NRL team were desperate to prove coach Brad Arthur wrong following his public spray, but he knows it will take more than one win to show they've changed.
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The Eels crushed Brisbane 38-10 at Bankwest Stadium on Saturday night, surging to a 26-0 halftime lead as Moses created all manner of headaches for the opposition.
The victory came after they lost 42-22 to Cronulla, a result that prompted Arthur to declare his charges need to "harden up" and decide if they want to be a "full-time or part-time team".
"It's never good hearing that from your coach. I think he definitely got a rise out of his players," Moses told AAP.
"It's up to you ... how you want to take it (those comments) and if you want to change his opinion. I think everyone did.
"We wanted to prove him wrong. We just have to do it week in, week out ... we know we can match it with the top sides."
Arthur denied his words last week were a motivational ploy, also downplaying their importance in what was a much-improved performance from Parramatta that yielded seven tries.
"It's got nothing to do with what I said," Arthur said.
"I didn't plan to come in, looking for a response. I was asked a question and I just, honestly that's where we are at the moment. One week we're there, the next week we're not.
"I made some harsh comments last week about the type of team we are but we still haven't proven that we're a full-time team yet.
"In our next game, we need to come with the same mentality and if we do that and aren't good enough, I can live with that."
The only downside for the Eels was Josh Hoffman's neck injury, which resulted from an accidental knee from Moses.
"I've spoken to Hoffy. He seemed to be all right and in good spirits. He was getting stuck into me so he seemed to be all right," Arthur said.
Hoffman was taken to hospital for precautionary scans, having left the field on a motorised stretcher.
"Whatever I hit was very soft. Hopefully it's just a bit of whiplash or whatever," Moses said.
"It's obviously scary.
"But it's rugby league, we're a contact sport and things like that are going to happen. You can't really dwell on it in the game."
The Eels are next in action on June 29, when they face Canberra in Darwin.
Australian Associated Press
