Kiwis international David Vaealiki is the main beneficiary of Jamie Lyon's National Rugby League (NRL) walkout, with the Christchurch-born centre restored to the Parramatta starting lineup for Sunday's visit to the Brisbane Broncos.
Vaealiki, an 86-game veteran at the Eels, was on the bench for Saturday's 14-48 humbling by the Bulldogs
having been out of favour but he is back in the frame after Lyon's shock exit yesterday.
He will partner Matt Petersen in midfield as coach Brian Smith tries to paper the cracks following Lyon's retreat to his rural NSW home town.
Lyon, who scored in the Kangaroos trans-Tasman test romp in Sydney last July, gave no hint he was about to quit the club.
Captain Nathan Cayless was taken aback when told the 22-year-old had gone bush.
"I couldn't believe it - this has come out of the blue."
The Kiwis second rower was also struggling to come to terms with his team's flaccid effort against the rampant Bulldogs at Telstra Stadium.
Cayless called his players together for an impromptu meeting before training yesterday to discuss why his side was so "lethargic and pedestrian."
"We wanted to address what happened. We can't keep dwelling on it or it will ruin our preparation for the Broncos match."
Parramatta players were endured the misery of watching video of the game before hitting the tackle bags.
"It was very disappointing because our enthusiasm levels were down, which shouldn't happen in round one. We just thought we were going better than what we are - it was a wake-up call," Cayless said.
Damning statistics revealed Parramatta only completed 52 per cent of their sets, missed 40 tackles in 80 minutes and made 23 errors.
"We gave away so much possession and didn't react in defence," Cayless assessed.
"If we keep doing that we'll be handing opposition teams a lot of tries."
Brisbane are riding high after their first-round 28-20 win over the New Zealand Warriors.
- NZPA
