After six rounds, Parramatta have a claim to being the strangest team in the NRL this year.
The Eels have played well in matches they've lost and poorly in games they've won. They've dropped four games but were in the mix to the end in most of them.
One of their wins was magnificent, a knock-'em-out brawl where they looked Penrith dead in the eye without blinking, and the other was a strange victory over the Tigers that head coach Brad Arthur and star halfback Mitchell Moses both called disappointing.
"I feel like we haven't been like that all year. I don't think we've put in a performance like that. For the first five rounds we've played some really good footy sides and we've been in the games for the majority of the games," Moses said.
"It felt like in the first half we didn't touch the ball but we still laid on three tries. It was a weird game to be a part of. I feel like we haven't played like that all year, we've lost games before and played better.
"I felt like we didn't come the way we have been playing in the first five rounds in terms of the physical aspect of the game."
The frank comments from Moses sound like the sort you'd hear after a loss, which fits the strange situation the Eels find themselves almost a quarter into the season.
They're hard to get a read on and it's difficult to know what to expect but given the troops that are returning from injury and suspension and the fact they're sitting 14th on the ladder, the time has come for the Eels to hit top gear if they're to be a serious football team this season.
That begins against old rivals Canterbury on Sunday, when the club will welcome back skipper Junior Paulo from suspension. With backrower Shaun Lane playing his first match of the season against the Tigers, the Eels are now, finally, fielding something close to their best 17 which means there can be no more excuses for any shortcomings.
The form of Moses will give the blue and gold faithful cause for optimism – the 28-year old was in fine touch despite his side's sluggish outing against the Tigers.
Moses set up four tries and controlled the match with his kicking game, as he did in the revelatory win over the Panthers last month.
"I just looked up and that's how it was [with my kicking], I just reacted. It wasn't pre-planned, I just react to it," Moses said.
"I know we had to just get away with a win but we were pretty much in control at 22-6 up and made some silly errors that took us away from playing footy. We'll have to fix that up, but I felt like every time we were down there we were putting points on so there wasn't a drama there. We just need to be better.
"We just made errors, we made it hard for ourselves because we went away from playing footy and that hurt us a bit."
Sunday's clash with Canterbury will be the first time the Eels have taken on former teammate Reed Mahoney and Moses kicking battle with Bulldogs superboot Matt Burton is sure to be a highlight.
The blue and whites are coming off a dispiriting loss to the Rabbitohs on Good Friday but are expected to welcome back key forwards Tevita Pangai Junior and Viliame Kikau.
"It'll be good, Reedy is still close with a lot of the boys. He's been playing outstanding footy, we'll have to do a job with him. I still talk to him a bit but I won't be this week," Moses said.
"He's got a big boot Burty, he likes to get a hold of those torpys, but I don't look at it as a kicking duel, it's not rugby union or anything.
"I just focus on my footy and turning the ball over wherever suits us best as a team, however that is and however we can pick apart the Bulldogs in that aspect, we'll try and do that."
