It was Vatuvei's first NRL hat-trick.
"I was kind of looking forward to coming back to Parramatta and turning my game around," he said.
"I only concentrated on catching all the balls this week and I did so I'm proud of myself."
Coach Ivan Cleary also paid tribute to his much-maligned winger.
"He was bagged from pillar to post, not just that night but consistently after that as well," Cleary said.
"He had one bad night ... it would have buried a lot of people what he had to go through so he's mentally very strong."
The Warriors will play either Melbourne or Manly in week one of the finals.
Asked if his side could make an impact on the premiership from eighth, Cleary said: "It's going to happen some day.
"It's not a bad position when you think about it, you go into a game where no-one will give you a chance."
Parramatta coach Michael Hagan wasn't as optimistic about his side's opposition.
"I think they'll be up against it next week," he said.
"But they're certainly a team that if they could execute their sets as well as they did tonight they would stay in the contest for a big part of it."
