Jayden Campbell may only still be seen as a young gun himself, but this week the 23-year-old will have to show his ripe old age as the most experienced playmaker in the Gold Coast's spine.
Only 42 games into his exciting NRL career, the Titans live-wire has been handed the the reins with the No. 6 jersey on his back, partnering alongside budding rookie Tom Weaver who will make his debut in the clash against the Panthers.
Excited for the former Australian Schoolboy and Future Titans alumni to get his opportunity in the top grade, the talented star has admitted the situation feels a little strange given it's only his third season of playing in the NRL.
"It's a little bit different... normally I'm the youngest in the spine but this week I'm the oldest," Campbell said.
"I'm very excited for Tommy Weaver. He's a young fella coming through and he's been playing really well in Cup and killing it.
"Congrats to him for his debut. I'm really excited for him and excited to play with him."
Being in the same situation as Weaver in Round 13, 2021 when he made his highly-anticipated debut against the Melbourne Storm, Campbell has plenty of wise advice for the 20-year-old around the occasion and taking in the situation.
"I know personally, I want to encourage him just to enjoy it because you get to only debut once, so you should try and enjoy every moment of it," he said.
"Don't change anything about how you play... just play your own game. There's obviously a reason why you're being picked and just have fun.
"Being a young spine, people might get a little bit scared but there's not really much pressure on us I guess you could say with us not making finals.
"We just should have fun and play football."
Match: Titans v Panthers
Round 25 -
home Team
Titans
13th Position
away Team
Panthers
1st Position
Venue: Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast
Up against Origin and International halves in Jarome Luai and Nathan Cleary, the young gun is relishing the chance to face the crème de la crème of the NRL competition, not afraid of the task ahead on Saturday afternoon at Cbus Super Stadium.
"They're the back-to-back premiers and they're sitting first on the ladder this year. They've got a lot of representative players and most of them are the best player (of the NRL) in their position," Campbell said.
"We've got to respect that but at the same time, enjoy the challenge that's ahead of us and just have fun playing footy."
