Month-long bans for Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Maika Sivo have compounded Parramatta's concerns as they prepare for a tough draw to finish one of the closest NRL seasons in recent memory.
But a year of adversity has left the Eels playing group believing they can continue to roll with the punches and charge into the finals series.
State of Origin prop Campbell-Gillard will miss four games for contacting Chris Randall with his knees in the 25-24 defeat of Gold Coast on Sunday.
And try-scoring ace Sivo now has a four-match ban for his grade-two careless high tackle on winger Jojo Fifita.
Sivo initially faced three weeks out but had his punishment increased after unsuccessfully seeking a downgrade at the judiciary on Tuesday night.
Also at the judiciary, Dolphins forward Jarrod Wallace had his three-match ban overturned, found not guilty of a grade-one shoulder charge on Penrith prop Spencer Leniu.
Wallace will be free to line up for the Dolphins in round 22 after their bye and is only the second player this season to have a ban thrown out by the judiciary.
The Eels, however, will not have either Campbell-Gillard or Sivo back until round 25.
"They're two of our main players," halfback Mitch Moses said.
"To be missing them for a few weeks, it'll be tough.
"They're hard players to replace."
The judiciary news could hardly have come at a worse time for the seventh-placed Eels, who are only inside the top eight on for-and-against and face the current top-three sides - Penrith, Brisbane and Melbourne - in their final six games.
The NRL's form team North Queensland await this Saturday and like all of the top-three sides, the Eels are playing them away from Parramatta.
Campbell-Gillard and Sivo are unavailable for the games against the Cowboys, Storm and Broncos but the proposed bans are only the latest obstacle for the Eels to clear in a season that has rarely gone to plan.
Last year's runners-up dropped four of their first five games amid a similarly tough draw but have gone on to win six of their past seven.
Parramatta have lost Campbell-Gillard, reigning player-of-the-year Shaun Lane and recruit Josh Hodgson to injury throughout the year, as well as Ryan Matterson to a suspension he chose over a fine after last year's grand final.
The club has also been on high alert without star five-eighth Dylan Brown, who remains suspended following his highly-publicised arrest and trial for sexual touching.
"We've had a lot of hurdles to overcome this year," second-rower Bryce Cartwright said.
"We just see it as a good challenge. Everyone gets excited when we have those obstacles to overcome."
Moses pointed out while the Eels went 1-4 to begin the year, they were competitive throughout their dry spell.
"We learned a lot coming out of that," he said
"Hopefully we can take those lessons at the start of the year and take them into those teams that we're versing at the end of it."
