His team refuse to throw in the towel despite their NRL season from hell, but Parramatta coach Brad Arthur wants more.

The Eels were on their way to one of the upsets of the NRL season when they stunned Canberra to lead 16-0 inside the opening minutes on Sunday before being beaten 28-18 followinga second half Raiders avalanche.

After a campaign that has included a 12-point points penalty for salary cap cheating, the exit of several players including marquee off-season signing Kieran Foran and a host of injuries to frontline players, the Eels could have been forgiven for throwing in the towel.

However, while Arthur continues to be proud of the team’s effort, the demanding coach now expects more from what’s left of his squad for the final two games of the regular season.

“I’m still as proud as I was last week of them, how all year, the effort’s been outstanding,” he said.

“We need to get a bit more for our effort but. There was too many points scored against us in the second half. We just lacked a little bit of class there at times.”

Centre Michael Jennings reminded Kangaroos selectors of his attacking potency with a strong display early, scoring the first try of the match and then setting up teammate Semi Radradra.

Radradra himself, in just his second game back from a knee injury, racked up a game-high 213 metres and three line breaks to also put his hand up for back-to-back green-and-gold jumpers.

But Arthur said a solid first half showing isn’t up to scratch anymore.

“Yeah, we got off to a good start, (but) we got off to a good start against the Broncos too,” he said.

“Start of the second half, there were a couple of tries scored in there. It’s not good enough.

“Next week we need to make sure that we start well and play well in the first half but we’ve got to be able to match it in the second half. Sometimes things go against you, we’ve just got to respond better.”

The Eels take on St George Illawarra in what will be their final game at Pirtek Stadium before it undergoes a knockdown and rebuild, before closing out the season against the Warriors.