Taumalolo ready for Parra’s bully boys

COWBOYS beast Jason Taumalolo has revealed a personal pact inspired his devastating finals form and declared he was ready to back it up when North Queensland confronted Parramatta’s bully brothers.

Taumalolo was sensational in North Queensland’s thrilling extra-time victory against Cronulla last Sunday, with the reigning Dally M medallist’s second stint the catalyst for the Cowboys to snatch a remarkable victory.

The 24-year-old ran the ball 22 times for a whopping 242m, busted eight tackles and carried four Cronulla defenders over the line to score a crucial try in the Allianz Stadium boilover.

A charging run in extratime delivered Michael Morgan the opportunity to sink a field goal and give the Cowboys a 15-14 lead they managed to hold on to.

Taumalolo is quickly earning a reputation for producing big plays in big games, responsibility he has embraced with Test prop Matt Scott (knee) missing most of the season.

Taumalolo watched the start of the second half from the sidelines before making a personal pact to rescue the Cowboys.

“It was a turning point for myself,” he said. “It was a question, ‘did I want this to be my last game of footy for the year with the Cowboys or not?’

“I went out there and gave it a red hot crack and eventually came out with the win.

“We were fortunate to be down by six points (at halftime). The rest was up to us, whether we wanted to stay in the competition or not.

“The boys hung in there, fought their way back and put points on the board and came away with a win.”

The Cowboys will need a similar effort to upset the Eels in Saturday’s elimination final at ANZ Stadium.

Parramatta enforcers Nathan Brown, Kenny Edwards and Manu Ma’u have earned a reputation this season for bashing their opponents.