The Warriors were beaten by 24-18 in Auckland last night by a Parramatta side who did the basics well and showed solid ball security.
With 14 minutes to go, the Warriors had looked down and out as they trailed 24-6, but Jerome Ropati's second try followed by one to Lewis Brown set up a grandstand finish.
"I think it shows the character in our team," fullback Lance Hohaia said.
"We were able to fight back and we have the talent in the side. We just need to start the game a lot better, cut out the mistakes and give ourselves and opportunity."
While the Kiwi fullback helped to set up both of Ropati's tries, he also contributed to the error count as Parramatta fullback Jarry Hayne tested the Warriors under the high ball.
Hohaia knocked on in the opening minute when faced with one Hayne kick, while debutant winger Glen Fisiiahi spilt another to gift opposite Luke Burt a try.
"It's always difficult under the high balls, they can up all over the place," Hohaia said.
"Jarryd Hayne has a good kick on him and they utilised that really well. Unfortunately for us, we didn't handle it very well."
Parramatta showed plenty of structure and shape under new coach Stephen Kearney as they dominated possession for a large part.
Burt grabbed 16 points to pass 1500 career points, and his two tries took him to within one of Brett Kenny's Parramatta record of 110 tries.
The Eels scored first when Jeff Robson crossed from a pass by hooker Casey McGuire, who made a strong return to the NRL after four years in France.
Hayne then reined in a Daniel Mortimer cross-kick to dot down.
The Warriors finally gave the 38,412 crowd, the largest home attendance in the club's history, something to cheer when Ropati went over after an easy penalty attempt at goal was turned down.
However, the Eels hit back early in the second half with Burt's two tries.
Aside from two competition points dropped, the Warriors are expected to be without star winger Manu Vatuvei for six to eight weeks because of a knee injury.
Five-eighth James Maloney could also face a spell on the sidelines, after being put on report for a shoulder charge on Hayne when Hayne was waiting to gather in a bomb.
The Warriors' loss in the first NRL match at Eden Park follows the Kiwis' defeats to Australia there in a Four Nations pool match last November and the 1988 World Cup final.
However, Hohaia, who took part in the Four Nations fixture, had no qualms about returning to the ground.
"It's an awesome stadium, a great field and there's no reason why we can't play well here," he said.
"Hopefully we get another opportunity to turn that around."
Coach Ivan Cleary said his side's ability to hang in until the end was a positive for the future.
"It's hard when you're trying to come from big deficits -- sometimes you make it, sometimes you don't," he said.
"Our first half wasn't quite what we liked, but the fact that we were punching on at the end was something we can certainly take into the next week's game."
As for the frailties under the high ball, Cleary gave credit to Hayne, saying some of the kicks he produced were "just phenomenal".
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