Tallis says Cowboys need ‘luck’

GORDEN Tallis believes the Cowboys would have to pull off a Steven Bradbury-like performance to get through this year’s NRL finals.

The Queensland great said that while he genuinely believed all eight teams were a chance of taking out this year’s trophy, he did think North Queensland would require a lot of luck to win their second premiership in three years.

The depleted Cowboys just scraped into the top-eight over the weekend, but have shown plenty of courage and potential over the last month despite battling injury after injury.

With co-captains Johnathan Thurston (shoulder) and Matt Scott (knee) not there to lead the Cowboys through their seventh consecutive finals, Tallis said it was going to require a great deal of effort for the gutsy team to succeed.

“It hurts me to say, but I think the Cowboys would have to have a lot of luck,” he said at Fox League’s finals launch.

“They would be Steven Bradbury if they won the grand final. Every single chance they get, they have to capitalise on it. Every single game they go into, they’re a chance.”

The Cowboys’ finals campaign will start on Sunday afternoon when they meet premiers Cronulla in an elimination final at Allianz Stadium in Sydney.