North Queensland co-captain Matt Scott admits he will be racing the clock to play in Saturday’s elimination final as he continues his rehabilitation from a broken finger.

Scott was amongst the captains from the eight NRL finalists in Sydney on Monday to kick-off the finals series – with the Cowboys nominated as the obvious dark horse having won six straight games to storm into the top eight.

But key to any finals charge would be the availability of Scott, who had surgery on his finger a week ago.

“I’m a chance for this week,” Scott said.

“The surgeon said three weeks initially but that’s obviously the week after (this weekend).

“I’ll be doing everything I can this week to get it ready for the weekend.”

The Sharks booked a date with the Cowboys after beating Canberra on Sunday night – a significant victory considering skipper Paul Gallen and Todd Carney were amongst a host of regulars who missed the game.

But that should change this week.

“We should be 100 per cent this week,” Gallen said.

“Flanno’s (coach Shane Flanagan) going to have a few headaches – Bryce Gibbs played very good last night and he hasn’t been in the side the past few weeks.”

Manly captain Jamie Lyon admitted his side had plenty to work on ahead of their qualifying final against minor premiers Sydney Roosters, having lost their last round clash to Penrith.

But the Sea Eagles should be boosted by the return of Anthony Watmough, Brett Stewart and Brenton Lawrence.

“It’s not ideal going into a semi-final game, but hopefully we can get a few of those players this week and put in a good performance,” Lyon said.

“… we’ve just got to iron out a few things and move on.”

Roosters skipper Anthony Minichiello said the minor premiers could not afford to look past the Sea Eagles.

“We haven’t spoken about the week off,” Minichiello said of the carrot that accompanies victory on Saturday night.

“Manly are a very physical side. They’ve got experienced players in their team.

“They love the big games – we have to play our best to get this one.”