The Parramatta Eels did plenty right in 2022 to finish fourth and then progress all the way to the decider but a drought-breaking premiership still eluded them.
NRL.com identifies three areas the Eels can improve as they look to go one better in 2023.
Heavyweight pressure
The Eels showed their class against teams well below them on the ladder in 2022 but struggled against others who were near them on the ladder.
Parramatta's missed tackle count was above 40 in five clashes in 2022 - all against heavyweight sides Penrith, Melbourne, Cronulla and North Queensland.
They scored two tries or less in seven games, six of those being from top-eight teams.
While Brad Arthur's men got over their week two finals curse and advanced to the grand final, they'll have to start again and win the close matches against top teams.
The past six premiers made the preliminary final or grand final the previous season so there's every reason to think the Eels can again be in the thick of things at the pointy end of proceedings.
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Defensive play-the-ball strike rate inside 20-metre zone
In a nutshell, the Eels fell into the 'good attack, poor defence' category in 2022, despite going all the way to the decider.
Parramatta needed 11.3 tackles to score a try inside the opposition 20-metre zone (ranked ninth) and defensively they conceded every 8.8 tackles inside their own 20m (14th). From 476 tackles inside their danger zone the Eels conceded 54 tries.
By way of comparison, the Sharks gave up a try every 18.1 tackles inside their 20m zone, the Roosters 16.1 and the Panthers 12.9.
Not switched on early
The Eels conceded the first score - either a try or penalty goal - on 17 occasions for a competition high.
Come the finals series they conceded 24 points in the opening 10 minutes of games, putting themselves under pressure from the outset.
They won 90% of their matches last year when they scored the first try and will want to focus on continuing that while correcting other parts that saw them fall short.
