Parramatta legend Peter Sterling says comeback performances from the Eels in 2008 have "sugar-coated" just how poor they are really travelling.

The Eels fell agonisingly short of a miraculous comeback in suffering a 22-16 NRL defeat to western Sydney rivals Penrith at Parramatta Stadium.

The result sees the Eels fall to ninth place on the NRL table with Penrith leapfrogging them into the top eight on 19 competition points as the countdown begins for the finals.

The two amazingly inconsistent neighbours are among a host of sides fighting it out for places in the bottom half of the top eight with Panthers skipper Petero Civoniceva declaring whichever side finds consistency will be playing in September.

Former premiership-winning Eels halfback Sterling says Parramatta are getting no closer to finding the type of 80 minute performances required to make a charge in the NRL.

"They are a long, long way short of the talent they have out there," said Sterling.

"They have not played well all season.

"It was sugar-coated by a couple of performances when they came back but really (those results) were just wall-papering the cracks."

Eels coach Michael Hagan conceded his side was guilty of "waiting for something to happen" while skipper Nathan Cayless says Parramatta are lucky to be within striking range after their up and down year.

"We are lucky in one sense that the competition is so close but we've got to win those games that we expect as a team to win and do well in," said Cayless.

It was Penrith's first win in over a month after a string of three successive losses, two of them by two points or less, and a 12-all draw to Brisbane last week.

Civoniceva said the Panthers need to reproduce Sunday's effort in the coming weeks against fellow finals contenders Newcastle (11th), Gold Coast (seventh) and Wests Tigers (10th) to solidify their comeback from wooden spooners in 2007.

"The biggest challenge for us now is finding that consistency and doing it every week and hopefully we will find ourselves at the back end of the season in the top eight," he said.

"It was a hard year last year and obviously it knocks a lot of confidence out of a football team when you come last on the ladder but slowly we've been building with confidence."

Melbourne began their push for a third successive minor premiership with a 30-14 victory over Canberra in windy conditions at Olympic Park.

Three tries in seven minutes prior to halftime proved vital for the Storm who can now focus purely on their title defence after such a disruptive Origin period.

The Storm sit fourth on the NRL table two points behind pacesetters Manly, Sydney Roosters and Cronulla.

The Sea Eagles flexed their title muscle with a 34-14 win over depleted Gold Coast last Friday while St George Illawarra remain the competition's form side with their seventh straight win in a 24-16 victory over Newcastle last Saturday that keeps them well placed in fifth position.

South Sydney will chase their fourth straight win for the first time since 1994 when they host the Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium to complete round 17 on Monday night.

Sydney Roosters, Brisbane, Cronulla, North Queensland, New Zealand Warriors and Wests Tigers had the bye.

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