"We're disappointed, but we're certainly not done and we don't want to finish our season on that performance," Arthur said.

"We'll just have to go back, work hard and bounce back and see what happens from there.

"In terms of the football, [it was] the two fundamentals of the game - we didn't complete our sets and we didn't make our tackles."

Arthur said the Eels lacked intent in the first half, and had to settle for a 12-8 lead despite the advantage of the breeze at their backs.

"It wasn't Parramatta-like, for me anyway, from what we've produced over the last month."

Eels co-captain Tim Mannah, who was lucky not to concede an eight-point try for his late flop on Jarrod Mullen after the Newcastle playmaker scored in the 50th minute, was at a loss to explain his side allowing five tries in a 16-minute period in the second half.

"I thought they showed a lot of class with their experience, just to be able to control the game the way they did, and we were very disappointing in how we played our game today, so it was frustrating," Mannah said.

Arthur said he would not put his players through endless replays of their second-half capitulation against Newcastle but was certain the Eels would improve against the Raiders in Canberra next Saturday, irrespective of the game's bearing on their finals hopes.

"We've had a few games like that this year, where we've been up and down a bit and we've managed to bounce back," Arthur said.

"I don't think I'm going to have to do too much this week. I'm sure the boys' pride is hurting, and they realise that was a lost opportunity and they certainly don't want to finish the season on a performance like that.

"We've just got to go down to Canberra, play a decent game of football, work hard for each other and then we'll have to see what happens from there.

"It's disappointing but I can't keep going over it and over it.

"We've been pretty honest all year in terms of how we need to improve but I don't think I'm going to get much out of showing too much video from that game.

"We just need to work out how we need to beat Canberra. That's all that matters at the moment. Our season's not over."

Knights coach Wayne Bennett said his team had been resilient all season, bouncing back from one drama after another, and he was pleased to see them play with so much confidence and flair after being thumped 48-6 by the Broncos in Brisbane seven days earlier.

"It was enjoyable, they enjoyed their football, and it was nice to see them play like that," Bennett said.

"We played a pretty good game in the first half against the breeze, and I was really happy when we came in at 12-8.

"The breeze can be something that you think you're going to get an advantage out of, and you don't, so it was important that we did capitalise in the second half as well."

Captain Kurt Gidley enjoyed watching his team-mates put an opponent to the sword after seeing it from the opposite side too many times this season.

"We haven't had too many of those days - we've been on the other side of it a few times," Gidley said.

"The first half, I thought we were under the pump a bit in the first 20 and we were. They were coming pretty hard and fast and it was a pretty tough first 20 minutes.

"But we were prepared to roll up our sleeves and work really hard into that wind, and you don't get a lot of field position during that, but we did pretty well coming into half-time [trailing 12-8], then it was good to sit back as a fullback and watch some of the plays that we train for come off.

"And we stuck to them too; we didn't try to go away from them halfway through the half. There weren't too many brain explosions; we just stuck to our game plan, which is good to see."

Knights utility Tyler Randell was called on to make his NRL debut after playing a full game in the NSW Cup curtain-raiser because hooker Travis Waddell became ill during the warm-up.

Randell started the game then returned for the final minutes only to sustain a deep facial gash after a head clash with Eels centre Ryan Morgan in the 76th minute.