But he did insist the Panthers were relishing the challenge of having to play four straight weeks to win the grand final, and the prospect of toppling the Storm in a preliminary final if they can squeeze past the Eels in Mackay on Saturday night.

“The idea was to not have to play this week, but it’s a different path and we are playing,” Cleary said. “I think when you do lose it’s natural to want to get out there and perform better. That’s the whole focus this week.

“We feel we’re in a very good position right now. We’ve got the opportunity to finish the year, I guess, how we want to do it. The boys are in good shape. It’s a different path, it’s a different opportunity, it’s a different experience for us.

“We’re feeling good. Last week was just a hiccup and we’ve just got to play better.”

Cleary confirmed fullback Dylan Edwards (foot), prop Moses Leota (calf) and Scott Sorensen (wrist) were all on track to return for the do-or-die game, which looms as a potential straight sets finals exit for the season-long title fancies.

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Eels coach Brad Arthur said he plans to use the returning Ryan Matterson in an unfamiliar role for the crunch clash against the Panthers, stressing he was fed up talking about Parramatta’s botched finals campaign last year.

Matterson, who was left out of Parramatta’s squad for their gripping win over the Knights in week one of the finals despite being available after serving a three-match suspension, will return on the interchange at Mackay on Saturday night.

But he won’t necessarily get the chance to play in his more familiar edge back row position, with Arthur planning to use him as part of his middle rotation against the likes of James Fisher-Harris, Moses Leota and Isaah Yeo.

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“He’s been named to play on the bench and at some stage he will be put into the game,” Arthur said of Matterson. “It will probably be moreso in the middle so he can give us some fresh legs.“

Shaun Lane and Marata Niukore have been named as the starting second-rowers with Matterson, Bryce Cartwright and Isaiah Papali’i on the interchange.

Arthur was forced to defend his team’s recent finals record, which has resulted in a string of week two appearances without progressing to a grand final qualifier. They can inflict similar pain on the Panthers, tipped to go all the way by many experts.

“At the end of the day, in the last five years we’ve made week two [of the finals] four out of those five years,” Arthur said. “So we must be doing something right. There’s only a handful of clubs that have done that.

“We’ve got aspirations like every other team to go further. It’s not as easy as it looks. It’s hard work. You’ve got to beat a lot of good teams along the way. You need a bit to fall your way.

“I’m sick of talking about last year and what happened last year. There’s circumstances and there’s excuses, whatever way you want to look at it. What we need to do is play well. We need to start well and then we need to be able to maintain it for 80 minutes.”

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