MIND GAMES BEGIN

COWBOYS coach Paul Green has switched on the mind games, declaring Parramatta as hot favourites for tonight’s NRL semi- final.

“They’re probably certainties tomorrow night,” Green said in Sydney yesterday.

Wearing a grin, Green was more than happy to let Parramatta deal with the weight of expectation before tonight’s do- or- die semi- final at ANZ Stadium.

Having grown accustomed to being the hunted in recent years, the 2015 premiers have spent the past day getting a first- hand glimpse of the pressure on the Eels to break their 31- year title drought. Parramatta is in the midst of its first finals campaign since 2009 and for the second straight week, the North Queensland side is content to take an “us against the world” mentality in Sydney.

“There’s no expectation on us. Parramatta have been the form team leading into the ( finals), they towelled the Broncos up at Suncorp which is not as easy thing to do and took Melbourne to the wire down there last week,” Green said.

“They’re probably certainties tomorrow night.

“It ( underdogs) is a good position to be in.”

While centre Justin O’Neill is expected to return from a month out with a dislocated shoulder, Green was keeping his cards close to his chest.

O’Neill got through yesterday’s captain’s run in Sydney and if he plays, will replace either Javid Bowen or Antonio Winterstein.

Hooker Jake Granville ( hamstring) and John Asiata ( broken hand) aren’t consid- ered to be in any doubt. “He got through training so we’ll see how he pulls up,” Green said of O’Neill.

The Cowboys have had a light week after last weekend’s 90- minute epic against Cronulla, completing only two training sessions.

They’ll be hoping for a different result to last year when they fell to the Sharks in the preliminary finals after beating Brisbane in extra time the week before.

“It’s been fairly tough physically, so recovery has been the focus of this week,” Green said.

“We’re used to travel the last few years, we’ve got our head around what’s required and what it takes out of us.

“We learned plenty of lessons out of that ( Sharks) game last year, but I don’t think we lost last year’s game because we were physically flat, it was for different reasons.”