Finals week two tips: $10m star's staggering resurgence key to FIFO mission
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The Cowboys are being heavily tipped to continue the Sharks' shocking finals drought, with a charter flight and a resurgent star keys to a fly in, fly out ambush.
Both Andrew Johns and Brad Fittler are picking the Cowboys to progress to a preliminary final clash with the Panthers, with the pressure on maligned halfback Nicho Hynes and Cronulla's poor recent finals record weighing heavily on the hosts for Friday night's elimination clash.
Hynes has had a torrid week in the press, with the 2022 Dally M Medal winner facing calls for his axing after a disappointing performance in last week's qualifying final against the Storm.
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Johns told Wide World of Sports Freddy and the Eighth that the criticism, which was led by ex Kangaroos halfback Greg Alexander, was warranted, adding that the Sharks were dealing with "all the pressure", while the Cowboys were flying smoothly under the radar.
"All the pressure is on the Sharks," Johns told Freddy and the Eighth's Tips.
"The Cowboys are under no pressure whatsoever. And they're up there (in Townsville) out of the way, chartered flight - them and Mötley Crüe on the chartered flight..."
He added that $10 million hulk Jason Taumalolo's performance in their elimination final win over Newcastle would give the Cowboys great confidence, after a season in which he's been relegated to a role player due to ongoing injury struggles that have robbed him of the power and endurance that once made him the consensus pick as best forward in the game.
Jason Taumalolo was a strong performer in the Cowboys' win over the Knights. Getty
"Taumalolo, it's the best performance I've seen for a couple of years," Johns said.
"He belted Leo (Thompson) and then he's charging, his second stint was unbelievable. I think he'll get great confidence from that. I think this weekend we're going to see the old Jason Taumalolo."
Fittler said the Cowboys had all the pieces to be a premiership threat but had struggled in defence for much of the season.
He said if they can aim up when they're not dominating possession they would have the firepower to condemn the Sharks.
"You look at their team and I think what you do is you think attack," Fittler said.
"Their attack, if you look at the team they're as good as anyone. Their backrowers, they've got a brilliant centre (Valentine Holmes), their fullback's (Scott Drinkwater) lethal, the (five-eighth Tom) Dearden, show and go, the halfback (Jake Clifford) is a big kicker. So I feel like the team's there it's just that they've really got to want to defend."
Scroll below for the current leaderboard and week two finals tips by all Nine's expert tipsters!
Nine's NRL tipping leaderboard. Nine
Andrew Johns: Cowboys, Roosters
Brad Fittler: Cowboys, Roosters
Allana Ferguson: Sharks, Roosters
Paul Gallen: Sharks, Roosters
Wally Lewis: Cowboys, Roosters
Danika Mason: Sharks, Roosters
Darren Lockyer: Sharks, Sea Eagles
Mat Thompson: Cowboys, Roosters
Peter Psaltis: Cowboys, Roosters
David Middleton: Cowboys, Sea Eagles
The Mole: Cowboys, Roosters
Ben Glover: Sharks, Sea Eagles
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