The Eels overcame the absence of their entire grand final forward pack and an early injury to new recruit Joe Ofahengaue to hold out the Cowboys 24-16 at CommBank Stadium.
With Junior Paulo on NSW Origin duty and Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Shaun Lane and Ryan Matterson injured, the Eels this week signed Ofahengaue from Wests Tigers but he suffered a calf injury just 10 minutes into his club debut.
Hooker Reed Mahoney and forwards Isaiah Papali'i, Marata Niukore, Oregon Kaufusi and Nathan Brown have all joined rival clubs.
With Ofahengaue injured, Wiremu Greig was forced to play 47 minutes in just his 14th NRL appearance and he led the Eels forward pack as the home side withstood a late Cowboys fightback, sparked by fullback Scott Drinkwater.
"You can focus on who is out of the team or you can focus on who is getting an opportunity and all of those guys I am so proud of, especially those middle guys," Eels coach Brad Arthur said.
"They are getting limited game time from week-to-week and they come in and then we get an injury early and they are forced to hang in there for us, and they keep fronting up. They all did a great job."
From the outset, the Cowboys looked a different side from the one humbled 66-18 by Wests Tigers and they opened the scoring when Drinkwater swivelled out of Clint Gutherson tackle in the eighth minute after an offload by Heilum Luki.
The Cowboys come out firing
However, Parramatta's first foray into North Queensland's 20 metre zone resulted in an easy try when Greig crashed over for his first NRL try in the 18th minute off a short Mitchell Moses ball.
The Cowboys appeared set to hit back soon after when Drinkwater broke through the defence and found support from Peta Hiku, who passed onto Chad Townsend only for the playmaker to be cut down short by Dylan Brown.
Townsend then saved a try himself on the last play before halftime when he tackled Eels winger Maika Sivo into touch to ensure the teams went to the break with the scores level at 6-6.
Townsend with his own try-saver
The Eels dominated possession and field position in the opening exchanges of the second half but winger Sean Russell was twice denied tries within a minute as North Queensland's goal line defence held firm.
Referee Todd Smith correctly disallowed a 48th minute try after a quick catch and pass from Will Penisini travelled forward before Russell caught it and strolled over untouched.
Russell again looked set to score from the ensuing scrum, due to a Cowboys knock-on before the forward pass, but he lost the ball attempting to ground it as Ben Hampton came across in cover to tackle him.
Sivo finally broke the 6-6 deadlock when he scored in the 55th minute after Brown, Gutherson and centre Bailey Simonsson combined to create a passage for the Fiji star to the tryline.
Sivo in the corner
Russell put the Eels further ahead when he was finally rewarded with a try in the 64th minute after quick hands by the Parramatta backline.
However, the Cowboys refused to surrender and winger Kyle Feldt scored two late tries - both of which were laid on by Drinkwater.
Feldt finds the line
"What he said before the game I really liked. He wanted to touch the ball and have 20 carries and when he has got his hands on the ball we are a better team," Cowboys coach Todd Payten said of Drinkwater.
"He took some tough yardage carries, he took some good options in good ball and he was a real threat for us. The kid cares about how his footy grows and cares about how we go as a team.
"I have really liked his intent and effort, particularly these last six-to-eight weeks."
Feldt's first try was created with a long pass by Drinkwater on the outside of Sivo, while the second followed a Parramatta knock on after Feldt chipped over the top of his wing opposite.
Grandstand finish incoming
Mitchell Moses secured the win when he scored in the 79th minute.
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Match snapshot
- Wiremu Greig ran 145 metres with the ball - the most of the Eels forwards, and he was supported by J'maine Hopgood (137m), Ofahiki Ogden (122m) and Bryce Cartwright (104m).
- Eels hooker Josh Hodgson made his 150th NRL appearance but the Englishman played just 30 minutes, with rookie Brendan Hands taking over the dummy half duties for the final 50 minutes.
- Will Penisini finished the match with eight tackle breaks, while Parramatta centre partner Bailey Simonsson made seven.
- PNG Kumuls winger Robert Derby ran 198 metres on the wing for the Cowboys in his NRL debut.
- Zac Laybutt, who is also eligible for the Kumuls, was a second Cowboys debutant.
- Interchange forward Griffin Neame (123m) was the only Cowboys forward to run more than 100 metres with the ball.
Textbook technique
- Eels winger Maika Sivo is the NRL's top tryscorer with 15, taking his career tally to 82 in 96 games.
- Sivo's second half try drew him level with fellow Fiji winger Semi Radrada as the fifth highest try scorer in Parramatta history.
- He has now scored six tries in four games against the Cowboys.
- Cowboys winger Kyle Feldt has now scored 13 tries in 12 matches against Parramatta after grabbing a second half brace.
- Eels back-rower J'maine Hopgood has come up with 33 offloads this season to lead the NRL in that category.
- The Cowboys are conceding 25 points per game through the first 13 rounds. At the same stage last season they were giving up just 12 points per game.
- The Eels have won four of their past five games against the Cowboys. The Cowboys’ only previous visit to CommBank Stadium resulted in a 42-4 loss to the Eels (2020).
Makatoa monsters Gosiewski
Play of the game
Eels five-eighth Dylan Brown made 32 tackles but none was more important than his 29th minute effort to stop Chad Townsend just short of the tryline after a break by Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater.
Brown with a miraculous try-saver
What they said
"We talked during the week that it is 13 games straight without a bye, so it has been a long period. I challenged the boys around just really owning their effort and the physicality. I thought we did that really well tonight. At 18-6 we had probably done enough to kick on but there was still plenty of fight in us, which is pleasing," - Eels coach Brad Arthur.
Eels: Round 13
"The three focus points for us were offloads, defensive principles and defend their last play options. In the second half we started poorly and we didn't get any field position for the next 30 minutes. Mitchell gives Parramatta a real luxury with his long kick. No matter how well we defended we received the ball on our own 10 metre line. As a coach I am much happier with the effort and the application around the tougher parts of the game," - Cowboys coach Todd Payten.
Cowboys: Round 13
NRL Press Conference: Eels v Cowboys - Round 13, 2023
What's next
The Eels have the first of two byes in the next five weeks, while the Cowboys host the Storm in Townsville next Sunday.
North Queensland coach Todd Payten expects to welcome back superstar forward Jason Taumalolo for the match after six weeks on the sideline with a knee injury, while Jeremiah Nanai returns from suspension.
Payten will also be hoping his Maroons contingent of Val Holmes, Murray Taulagi, Reuben Cotter and Tom Dearden come through Wednesday night's Origin opener unscathed.