At a loss to explain the reason behind Parramatta's stunning surge into last year's NRL finals, Eels coach Daniel Anderson admits he is just as clueless trying to figure out where the magic has gone this year.

"That is a difficult question. It's difficult to pinpoint where it has gone," Anderson said of the fact the Eels had won only one of their opening three games.

"The only good thing is we have identified it early. We can't keep playing the way we are otherwise it's not going to work out.

"Maybe we need to not talk so much and just act."

Parramatta get their chance to act against winless Cronulla at Toyota Stadium on Saturday, the Eels' plight ensuring complacency won't be an issue against the deplorable Sharks.

Anderson has refused to make wholesale changes to his star-studded line-up, instead calling on his senior players to produce a more sustained effort rather than the sporadic bursts evident so far in 2010.

Even in the one win they have managed to secure this season, it took until the final 25 minutes for the Eels to overhaul a 20-0 deficit against Manly in round two.

"We need to show more grit and determination and show more effort," Anderson said.

"They're the intangibles. I can't give a bunch of statistics to say here this is where we're falling down, it's not that at all.

"It's the intangibles that we need to improve on and they're easily identifiable.

"I don't think I have one player who would disagree."

Certainly not skipper Nathan Cayless, who on Saturday will become the first player to skipper the one club for the 200th time with Brad Fittler's all-time captaincy record of 216 games also within sight.

The stunning show of endurance may have the former New Zealand Test captain on the verge of several milestones, but it has also taught the burly prop a thing or two about dealing with adversity.

"We haven't been playing tough enough. Our attitude has been lacking," Cayless said.

And will attitude again be an issue given the Sharks have lost their last 13 matches?

"It might have been different if we won our first three games but we're desperate ourselves," Cayless said.

"We want to get our season back on track."

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