Aquis Titans captain Nathan Friend had no need to single out Wests Tigers star James Tedesco by name.
The threat posed by a man sitting high on the leaderboard for almost every attacking statistic needs no more fanfare than what his dancing feet have already provided.
Blues fullback Tedesco is arguably the NRL’s sharpest attacking weapon.
He is in the top five for tries scored (14) and top seven for line breaks.
And the tackle shredding machine averages more than six tackle breaks per outing.
The Titans only had to watch a review of his try against North Queensland where he bounced off a six-pack of Cowboys to score to be aware how dangerous Tedesco could be to their finals hopes.
“They’ve got a pretty handy fullback that if we’re a bit loose in the middle, he’s going to carve us up,” Friend said.
“We need to be on our game but we’re confident.”
Friend has beaten a hamstring injury that sidelined him for two matches and is a strong chance to make a return in Saturday’s must-win clash with the Tigers at Campbelltown Stadium.
The Titans could use his defensive workrate in the middle after missing a combined 33 tackles in the loss to the New Zealand Warriors.
That defeat saw the Titans fall from seventh to 10th on the ladder and once again at risk of missing the finals.
“We can’t worry about the ladder,” Friend said.
“We’ve had two big battles the last two weeks at home, probably not the results we’ve wanted.
“But we’ve had a bit of a freshen up and the boys are keen to take on the Tigers who are doing so well.
“Our performances have been quite good, as (have) the Tigers (and) they’re a dangerous team across the park.
“This time of the year we need to pick it up a gear if we’re going to be in any contention.”
There will be juicy match-ups everywhere, including the middle third where Ryan James takes on Tigers beast Aaron Woods who last week tamed the Cowboys forwards.
In his first start for Gold Coast, five-eighth Jarryd Hayne’s playmaking ability will be tested by Mitchell Moses, a star-in-the-making who once idolised the former eel.
“It’s a new week, Hayney’s had another week with us to gel and learn the plays a little more,” Friend said.
“We saw what he could do on the weekend.”
