PARRAMATTA are still well short of finding the form that saw them give eventual premiers Melbourne a huge shake in last year's finals series, but at least they are heading in the right direction again.

The performance by the Eels in beating Penrith at CUA Stadium showed that when the urgency is there and the passes stick, they can still cut their opponents apart in a hurry, but when you have been in as deep a rut as Parramatta have been this season you need to produce consistent form over a period of time to convince people you are back.

So now it is on to the game against St George Illawarra at ANZ Stadium on Sunday, and - hopefully, for Eels fans - back-to-back wins. The Dragons will be looking for the same, having ended their own run of outs with an Anzac Day win over the Roosters before having a bye.

When you are out of form you need something good to happen to help you find that form again - a close and critical call in your favour, a mistake your opponents wouldn't normally make -and the Eels got the luck they needed against the Panthers.

We will never know for sure whether Penrith forward Nathan Smith scored when he slid over the line a few minutes before half-time. The presence of multiple Parramatta players in the tackle meant the ball was not visible from any of the television angles available. It was ruled no try.

Then, a few minutes into the second half, the Panthers were denied another try when a spectacular, length-of-the-field movement was pulled back. It was ruled that Penrith winger Michael Gordon, who had one foot in the in-goal and the other in the field of play, had caught the ball on the full in the in-goal to start the movement, resulting in a 20-metre tap.

The decision was correct, but it was desperately unlucky for the Panthers that Gordon had to keep that one foot back in catching the ball.

Parramatta, who were already 14-6 down when they dodged those two bullets, realised they had to change the momentum around quickly if they were to be any chance of winning. They did that in stunning fashion, scoring four tries to turn that eight-point deficit into a 26-14 lead. Penrith couldn't come back from that.

The Eels will gain a lot of confidence from the win, and there is the potential for them to make a big move from here, but they will know there are still a lot of areas in which they need to make significant improvements before they can challenge for the title.

It may be too early for the rebuilt Newcastle side to win the premiership, but they are certainly good enough to make the finals and cause some angst for other teams. Again, the enthusiasm of the Knights in their 13-12 win over Gold Coast at EnergyAustralia Stadium was fabulous, but it would be to sell the team short to say it was about just enthusiasm.

Coach Brian Smith has the Knights playing an energetic and fast-paced brand of football that gives the team's young playmakers room to move and forces the opposition onto the back foot. It was a long time into the game before the Titans were able to break free of the shackles and mount a comeback after falling behind 12-0. But the Knights deserved their narrow win.

Brisbane have long had one of the best away records in the NRL. They weren't great in their 34-22 win over Wests Tigers at ANZ Stadium but they were professional enough to get the job done.