In a late-season freefall off the back of four straight losses, Eels coach Brad Arthur stressed before Saturday night that he'd take any kind of win to turn around Parramatta's confidence.

And that was pretty much what he got.

Parramatta were far from perfect on the Gold Coast, completing at just 70 per cent and making eight errors in the first half alone against the battling Cowboys.

But after a horror month, Parramatta can at least hope a victory will solve some of their problems.

Mitch Moses enjoyed his best game since fracturing his back in State of Origin, setting up three tries and kicking superbly to force just as many repeat sets.

His combination with Dylan Brown also looked better, with Brown setting up one try and scoring one of his own late from a Moses bomb.

"That was Mitch's best running game in some time and what we need from him moving forward," Arthur said.

"We talked during the week - we wanted our halves touching the ball more.

"Especially when we get in good ball we want them living on the footy. They are the ones responsible for setting up tries and coming up with big plays.

"We didn't come here tonight expecting to get everything right but it's a start."

Clint Gutherson also bagged his first try in more than two months, with his four-pointer the best of the night after Moses put Haze Dunster away and he kicked back inside for the fullback.

But it wasn't all rosy for the Eels.

Nathan Brown was put on report for a crusher tackle on Reuben Cotter, while hooker Joey Lussick could be in trouble for late contact.

But Sivo is the biggest concern, with the star winger on crutches after his knee was twisted in a tackle.

The Eels fear he has suffered medial ligament damage, putting the rest of his season in serious doubt and Blake Ferguson his likely replacement.

Sivo had earlier set up the Eels' first try, getting a ball back in to Waqa Blake to score after the centre had initially batted it onto him.

Moses then entered the fray, breaking down field to put Will Penisini over for his first NRL try before setting up Shaun Lane just before the break.

The win keeps the Eels' faint top-four hopes alive, but more importantly, gives them a boost before games against Melbourne and Penrith to finish the season.

It shouldn't be lost on anyone however that the Cowboys' issues dwarf those of the Eels.

North Queensland have now lost 10 straight, just three games shy of the club's all-time worst streak.

They were in the game at 10-6 down when Heilum Luki ran onto a deft ball from Mitchell Dunn, but it slipped away from them just before and after halftime.

"More often than not what's getting us in trouble is we're punching ourselves in the face with poor ball control," coach Todd Payten said.

Australian Associated Press