Parramatta star Feleti Mateo insisted on Monday that players at the beleaguered NRL club are "willing to die for the jersey".

The Eels' own coach, Daniel Anderson, questioned the commitment and spirit of his players after the Bulldogs ran nine tries past them in a 48-18 rout at ANZ Stadium on Sunday.

And his comments were later backed by club greats Ray Price and Brett Kenny.

Tongan international Mateo, one of the Eels' best players in the loss, told reporters at the team's recovery session he did not believe the players' effort or pride in the jersey needed scrutiny.

"We had a tough game yesterday, people say that we're in tough times but it's only the team that can pull us out of it," Mateo said.

"I know when I look around I see 16 or 17 other players there that are willing to die for the jersey.

"I know myself I grew up watching Parramatta and always wanted to play for Parramatta, so I don't doubt our pride at all and I think it's always been there."

Mateo said Anderson had not said much to the team after the match.

"He (Anderson) was just brief and said for us to get our heads around this week and that's what we're going to do," he said.

"We all know ourselves what went wrong so we're lucky enough to have this week to bounce back."

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