Norman (hamstring) was sorely missed as the Eels blew a 12-0 lead to go down 24-16 to the Titans, who surged back to win their first game of the season despite missing a host of players including former Eels Jarryd Hayne (ankle).

Not only did the Titans rally from two tries down after 15 minutes, they managed to do it through a host of in-game injuries and incidents, including a number of players spending time off the field for concussion assessments and the loss of veteran winger Will Zillman (calf).

It all pointed to a disappointing performance from the Eels, who were overwhelming favourites on the back of their impressive form over the opening rounds in which they had administered defeats to Manly and St George Illawarra.

They made 13 errors and gave away eight penalties in the type of performance that would see them with their backs to the wall against the powerful Sharks next Saturday night.

Norman (hamstring) should be fit for duty but Gutherson, who scored an early try and was solid behind a pack that never established any sort of dominance, said the club must be able to rise above injury if it wants to be taken seriously in 2017.

Gutherson partnered Jeff Robson on Friday night and said Norman's absence was no legitimate excuse for a team performance that lacked fire, focus and discipline.

"Robbo jumped straight back in. It was the mistakes that cost us. Our attack was alright, we were getting up the field alright. We just made silly mistakes, we let them back in and they made us pay," Gutherson said.

"Every game is tough. There's no easy beats. We knew that coming up here and they gave it to us. We didn't show up after the first 20 and it cost us badly. We're disappointed but we'll turn up next week against the Sharks."

Gutherson had some bright touches early but later it was clear that no Norman was going to mean problems for Parramatta. The duo have struck up a good combination early in the season and fans would dearly love them to be reunited next weekend.

But Gutherson insisted there would be a huge improvement from the Eels regardless of whether Norman would be suiting up at ANZ Stadium.

"If Norms is back its a big big boost but it he isn't, it won't faze us. We have to turn up and play better than we did and hopefully we get away with it," he said.

"We'll watch the video on Monday and move on fairly quickly. The best thing about rugby league is you can turn it around in a week so we're just looking forward to the Sharks now and we turn our focus to them.

"They're the premiers. They're the benchmark. We're going to show up."

The Eels have further worries after their trip north, with hooker Kaysa Pritchard suffering an ankle injury and backrowers Tepai Moeroa and Manu Ma'u under potential clouds if they catch the eye of the match review committee for late hits on Titans halfback Ash Taylor.

Eel skipper Tim Mannah admitted heads had dropped during stages of the match and that hurt more than the lack of execution at crucial times, particularly from key players like Semi Radradra who twice dropped the ball near his own line.

"Our attitude probably could have been a lot better," Mannah said. "The simple errors showed our heads weren't where they should be. It hurts. I really see that as a lost opportunity but it's round three. We are not going to panic too much.

"We have the premiers next week so we just have to make sure we turn up with a better attitude."