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Farah still helping NSW with support for Blues contender Cook

Cook, the 26-year-old who poked holes through the Roosters middle for fun and ran for 142m, said he would welcome the Blues call-up, and praised Farah's input behind the scenes.

Farah, a 16-game Blues veteran who is unlikely to play beyond this season, has regularly given Cook some pointers in the sheds at half-time.

One nugget of advice from the 34-year-old on Thursday allowed Cook to spot daylight in the second half.

"He's always coming into the sheds and letting me know what's going on and ways to attack teams and what to improve on,'' Cook said.

"On Thursday night he gave me a tip on one of the players and what the defence was doing and it almost came off, but I knocked on during an offload.

"He's a smart guy and I will milk everything out of him while he's here.

"He's passionate about (NSW). He's still filthy about last year when we lost. He's very proud to play for NSW and will do what he can t make sure NSW get that trophy.''

Cook said he was in two minds when Souths signed Farah at the start of last season when he was the incumbent NSW rake, having already bided his time behind Michael Ennis at Canterbury.

Souths coach Anthony Seibold said he had told Cook to work on a few things over the summer and he had deserved first shot at the starting role.

Cook later admitted defence was a key area Seibold wanted him to improve and he could not be faulted when stopping Roosters giant Dylan Napa on the tryline late in the game on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Roosters forwards were again dominated, with the blowtorch on Friend. A fifth-tackle kick that sailed down the throat of Alex Johnston late in the game set the Chooks' faithful right off.

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