Which, while it wasn't good for the Eels and would be like a jousting stick fair in the helmet for the struggling Knights, is good for the NRL competition because it at least creates some added interest at a time when Penrith and Melbourne look to be so far ahead of the opposition it's ridiculous.

For the sake of believing that there are some other clubs genuinely capable of winning the premiership, we should remember one thing: two other teams have to fill out the top four and from there you're only two wins away from making the grand final.

It helps if there is a stutter by one of the favourites, as there was last year when the second-placed Panthers lost to South Sydney in the first week of the finals, which put them on the same side of the draw as the first-placed Storm from that point.

The Rabbitohs took that as their cue to blast through what had suddenly become the weak side of the draw and qualify for the grand final, in which they were only narrowly beaten in a rematch with Penrith.

So there is always hope. The difficulty is in finding the other teams for which there genuinely might be that hope in 2022.

I've got my doubts about Parramatta being one of those sides, following losses in two of their last three games to Wests Tigers and the Cowboys.

Last year, many critics gave the Eels, who had finished sixth over the 25 rounds, a favourable pass mark for the season due to their effort in taking Penrith to the wire in the second week of the finals before losing narrowly. And it was a strong performance in a high-quality game.

But the fact is they lost, again, in a big finals game - still two weeks out from the grand final. The Rabbitohs managed to get to the decider despite the fact they played without their superstar fullback Latrell Mitchell from round 25 onwards.

Eels coach Brad Arthur did a great job holding the team together through the salary cap scandal of 2016 and has kept it very competitive for the majority of recent seasons, but the fact remains they have won only two out of eight finals games under him.

They're getting to the water, but they're not drinking it.

The game against the Cowboys last weekend was not one of those where things generally went according to plan for both teams, but one just happened to be better than the other. The Eels were outplayed and you have to say Payten won the coaching battle.

All six Cowboys tries were scored down their right-hand side against an Eels left-side defence that was riddled with a combination of poor positional play, questionable decision-making and general uncertainty.

Parramatta's left winger Hayze Perham - some of it due to association with the defenders inside him and some his own doing - had a poor game.

North Queensland's first try - also the first of three straight for their right winger Kyle Feldt - came after the Eels' defence jammed in way too far and fullback Scott Drinkwater threw a long ball for a stroll-over four-pointer.

The second saw Perham caught inside again, although not as bad this time, on a kick from halfback Chad Townsend to Feldt's wing. Perham raced out there, but never looked back at the ball and was left waving his right arm at thin air in an unsuccessful attempt to disrupt the catch for the try.

The third was from a set-piece scrum play when the Cowboys attempted to fool by going right. It was a still a three-on-three situation, but, after moving up straight, Eels defenders Jake Arthur, Dylan Brown and Perham didn't start moving left until it was too late and Feldt got around his man.

The demolition down that same side continued, with the Cowboys sticking the knife in by the time of their last try.

The movement began with a long ball from Drinkwater, just five metres off his own line, that put Hamiso Tubuai-Fidow into the clear on the outside of Perham. And Tubuai-Fidow even had a teammate outside him!

It's no secret the Eels have had problems out wide in defence on both sides of the field at various times in recent years. Sometimes the opposition is good enough to exploit it.

And that has been with different Eels line-ups. So, as I said earlier, while Perham had a bad night it wasn't all his fault. To a degree he was a victim of a defensive approach that didn't work in this game. There's no way North Queensland directing a lot of their attack to that left-side defence wasn't part of a plan.

It's still the case that if you want to be a force in the NRL you've got to be dominant in defence. Last year the Cowboys were the worst team defensively, conceding an average of 31.16 points per game. After eight games this season they've got a 12.12 average.

The chances of a beat-up Knights side somehow finding a way through them up north look forlorn.

Meanwhile, Parramatta are away to Penrith tonight. They get their regular left centre Tom Opacic back, with Brown returning to five-eighth. Perham remains on the wing.

The Panthers, as we well know, can attack brilliantly to either side. Wherever they choose to go, if there are weaknesses they'll find them.