Parramatta five-eighth Daniel Mortimer says he learned more from the NRL club's nightmare 2010 than its dream 2009.

Constantly under pressure as the Eels struggle for creativity, Mortimer laid on two of his side's tries in the dramatic 22-18 win over Gold Coast on Sunday, while halves partner Jeff Robson had a hand in the other two.

With reports South Sydney halfback Chris Sandow is on his way to Parramatta, Mortimer said he was confident his game was moving forward.

"The first year was a dream run, I was very fortunate to be a part of that," he said of the 2009 run to the grand final.

"I've definitely learnt since then that footy's much more of a grind and it's not all roses like that first year.

"I've probably learnt more since '09 doing it tough last year.

"I think I leant more last year than the year before and I'll just keep taking that on board and keep striving to better my performances."

Mortimer has been under the microscope since Canterbury came calling, looking to reunite his famous surname with the club.

He was "rested" by former Eels coach Daniel Anderson last year, while he and Robson have borne the brunt of the criticism about the Eels' lack of penetration.

It's been one of the NRL's mysteries how the pairing which took the club to the 2009 decider has struggled since.

"We try to just keep our head in footy and we're working hard on our game and it was pleasing we got the win today," Mortimer said.

"We'll just keep working away, chipping away all the things we've got to work on and hopefully get a few more wins.

" ... Hopefully we'll just give more and more direction to the team and I think that's something we are improving on."

New coach Stephen Kearney has backed his playmakers to have an impact on the race for the 2011 premiership.

"I'm going to keep persevering and keep working with them," he said.

"They know they've got improvement in them and they know we have to improve to be competitive in this competition, but I'm going to give them every opportunity.

"It's not going to be a click of the finger job and happen like that."

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