Fast starts, slow endings hurting Canberra Raiders: Billy Slater

His comments come as Peni Terepo was offered a three-game ban with an early guilty plea for his swinging arm on Raiders fullback Jordan Rapana.

The penalty further raises questions of whether Terepo should have been sent to the sin bin, given the severity of the ban and the fact Rapana was forced from the field to do a head injury assessment with blood streaming from his nose.

Rapana was able to return in the second half, but missed the final 12 minutes of the opening 40 while the Eels were unaffected.

The Raiders shot out to a 16-0 lead against Parramatta, but were reeled back in and overrun to lose 22-16 in Darwin on Saturday night.

Slater said it wasn't the first time the Green Machine have let leads slip this season.

They also started strongly against Cronulla, where they led 20-0 before eventually winning 22-20.

Canberra also held a 12-0 lead over the Canterbury Bulldogs before finishing 12-10 victors.

Slater said it was something Stuart would need to address.

"They've got a bit of a trend to do this, Canberra, and it's probably going to be a bit of an issue for Ricky Stuart and the coaching staff," he said on Nine's Sunday Footy Show.

"They start the games really well and then they let teams back in.

"Two weeks ago they played the Cronulla Sharks and they were [20-0] and Cronulla came back and it was 20-all at one stage.

"Two weeks before that against the Bulldogs they were 12-0 and then the Bulldogs came back and it ended up 12-10.

"So it's certainly going to be an issue for Ricky Stuart going forward."

The Raiders haven't been helped by a raft of players missing due to injury, Origin and suspension.

While they're returning to full strength, Joey Leilua (neck), Nick Cotric (ankle) and Hudson Young (suspension) are still out and their combinations have been disrupted over the past few rounds.

Raiders prop Josh Papalii felt the effort was there against the Eels, it was just their execution that let them down.

Papalii said they would use the bye to fix a few problem areas up before returning to face St George Illawarra in Wollongong Sunday week.

"I definitely know this team I'm playing with this year and it's a team that will definitely bounce back after a loss," he said.

"We're going to have to go back to the drawing board and work on a few things as a team."