Whether or not it is on again for Parramatta should become clear at CUA Stadium on Saturday night.

"It" is another late-season charge to the NRL finals following last year's incredible 10 wins from the Eels' last 12, including the grand-final loss to Melbourne.

Superstar fullback Jarryd Hayne's blistering three-try performance against North Queensland on Monday night - and the fact the Eels managed 36 points after their attack had been firing blanks for weeks - would suddenly have raised the hopes of the blue and gold army.

But the Cowboys sit 15th, the Panthers second.

Like last year, though, Parramatta have little to lose after scratching together seven wins from 16 starts, and are determined not to die wondering.

"We've just got to make sure we play footy," Eels prop Tim Mannah said.

"I think sometimes when your confidence is low you go into your shell a bit and you forget to promote the ball but we're the kind of team that likes to play with a bit of flair.

"We need to do that to get some wins I guess and get some points so it was good to see the boys comfortable to throw it around.

"We scored a try just before halftime (against the Cowboys). It was back-to-back tries which we haven't done for a while, so it was good to go into the second half with a bit of a lead."

They could hit the Panthers at a better time than most sides have this year, with star lock Luke Lewis (shoulder) missing and confidence dented by last week's home loss to the Warriors.

"It'll be a great test for us," Mannah said.

"We had a great win (over the Cowboys) but that was against a team that wasn't in the eight so we've got to make sure we back it up with a strong performance against a top eight side.

"We've got a team capable of winning some games at the moment so we've just got to focus on our games coming up that we have ahead of us and not so much worry about with what's behind us."

Panthers hooker Kevin Kingston will play his first match against the Eels since he helped them to the decider last year, while Daine Laurie's strong club debut last week earns him another bench spot.

The western Sydney rivals have split their last 10 clashes 5-5 in some high-scoring affairs, including last year's 38-34 home victory when brilliant Panthers centre Michael Jennings scored a hat-trick.

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