THE Melbourne players won't be shaking in their boots at what Parramatta produced last night - the Eels will have to improve considerably to compete with the Storm at Telstra Dome next Sunday.

Parramatta made plenty of mistakes - it was just that the Bulldogs made even more.

The Bulldogs all but wrote out an invitation for Parramatta to take the lead going into half-time. From the 29th minute to the 33rd, they turned the ball over three times and gave away a dumb penalty as well.

The Eels had to score out of all of that or be embarrassed - and the try that put them in front came from winger Eric Grothe six minutes before the break.

The only reason Parramatta weren't further ahead was that they had almost matched their opponents for botched opportunities.

Better ball security would have been one of the first things Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes called for at half-time. His players would have been well aware of how badly they had let themselves down in that area, but they began the second half making exactly the same mistakes.

Again, the Bulldogs managed to stay in the game because the Eels were still having some trouble hanging on to the ball themselves.

To the roar of the crowd, the Bulldogs got their first penalty from referee Shayne Hayne in the 45th minute. But they turned the ball over again less than 60 seconds later - only for Parramatta to give it straight back to them. It was that sort of game.

No wonder Eels five-eighth Brett Finch decided it wasn't too early to kick a field goal in the 51st minute.

Both teams were doing such a good job of ruining opportunities that a seven-point lead looked to be worth about 20, even with nearly half an hour to go.

Andrew Ryan was the best of the Bulldogs forwards. He tackled his heart out and made some big gains running the ball, but even he was not immune to making mistakes.

It was a game in which the team that made the least errors won - and to win despite making as many errors as Parramatta did showed you just how bad the Bulldogs were.

The Eels ran away towards the end, but they must know they've got to do better.