Wayne Bennett revealed the driving force behind the Dragons' sizzling start to their NRL title defence, but lamented the toll the representative season would take on his side after their 30-0 whitewash of Parramatta at WIN Jubilee Oval.

Their seventh win in eight games moved the Dragons into top spot above Brisbane on for and against, while Parramatta slumped to their fifth loss.

Renowned for dour, defence-dominated play, the Dragons proved they could be pretty as well as gritty, particularly in the first half.

Jamie Soward and Mark Gasnier made the incisions with their running and Matt Cooper and Ben Hornby delivered the knockout blows,

Halfback Hornby and centre Cooper both scored two first half tries, as the Dragons bolted to a 22-0 lead at the break.

Five-eighth Soward threw the final pass for three of the Dragons' five tries, two of which came from his line breaks.

Forward Beau Scott added a fifth try in a lacklustre second half, though the Dragons continued to offer no charity in their defence.

With the representative season looming and Sunday's game their first of the season at either of their main home grounds, coach Bennett was delighted with the side's start to the season.

"If you'd said to us we'd be seven and one after eight weeks with what we had in front of us ... the UK and no home games until today ... we're really pleased with that," Bennett told reporters.

"It's been a bit of a driving factor in the club, to make sure we're well positioned now.

"So, if the next two months the players are tired and worn out, we can get through that without being under too much pressure and come out the other side with another eight weeks to go in the comp and still be well positioned."

Eight Dragons were named in either Friday's Test or the City-Country game, while injuries ruled out Gasnier and Dean Young.

"We've got a lot of players away in the rep program so the silly season has started which is a great tragedy," Bennett said.

"We're not really going to be a team again for the next two months.

"Everything changes unfortunately. I've been through this all of my coaching career so we'll handle it best we can.

"It's extremely disruptive."

Parramatta started solidly enough in the first quarter, with forwards Fuifui Moimoi and Tim Mannah making metres with some determined running, but they failed to pose a sustained threat.

Eels coach Stephen Kearney said he was still confident about where his side was heading, but admitted they had some catching up to do.

"There is a difference (in the quality of teams) and if we want to be a competitive football team, we've got to be able to compete for the 80 minutes," Kearney told reporters.

"I thought we did that fairly well for 60 minutes."

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