Unfortunately, Parramatta turned up with the same no-frills plan and beat them at their own game, grinding out a 10-4 win after an arm wrestle that could have gone either way.

Good teams make their own luck, and Parramatta's position on top of the NRL points table - after eight wins from their first nine games - would suggest they are more than just a good team.

Two moments of fortune favoured them yesterday. Firstly when skipper Cint Gutherson took a quick tap and created a try for Maika Sivo, while Newcastle captain Mitchell Pearce was arguing with referee Gerard Sutton.

Sutton allowed play to continue, when he could easily have asked Gutherson to re-take the re-start.

Then, in the dying minutes, the Knights looked set to salvage an equaliser when Tex Hoy won the race to ground a Kalyn Ponga grubber kick in-goal.

Replays, however, revealed Hoy was fractionally off-side, leaving the bunker with no option other than to rule no try.

Afterwards, Knights coach Adam O'Brien admitted his team had been below their best in attack but made no apologies for their defensive outlook.

"Our attack will get better ... but I thought if we didn't go back and pick up some of that defence, we could get to the end of the year and it could really hurt us badly in a game, if we didn't value that love of defence," he said.

O'Brien said he would focus on fine-tuning Newcastle's attack in coming weeks, but preventing the opposition from scoring would remain the priority.

"We need to be a good defensive team," he said. "Defence wins premierships."

His former mentor, Eels coach Brad Arthur, expressed similar sentiments.

Parramatta have the best defensive record in the NRL, having conceded only 96 points, and while they have some potent attacking options, Arthur said they "hardly touched the ball" leading into their clash with Newcastle.

"We knew that defence was going to be really important for us," he said.

"At the back end of the year, we need to make sure we've got our systems in place with defence. I thought defensively tonight we were really good."

Arthur anticipated a rugged contest with the Knights, who showed a week earlier, in their 14-12 win against Manly, that they can handle themselves in a dogfight.

"We knew that we were going to have to play for the 80 minutes," he said.

"I think what the club and Adam have done with the Newcastle team, they're playing a real tough style of footy. They make you earn your points."

The Knights will be eager to get back on the right track at Bankwest Stadium on Saturday, against a South Sydney team minus superstar Latrell Mitchell and forward Mark Nicholls, who are both suspended.