Ashley Taylor has been reminded to put his Ben Hunt man crush on ice by coach Garth Brennan before the pair go head-to-head in NRL round three.
Taylor has been cleared to return from a hamstring injury for the Gold Coast to play Hunt's St George Illawarra in what will be a Toowoomba homecoming for the Titans halfback.
He will have the crowd in his pocket at Clive Berghofer Stadium on Sunday but it was the 23-year-old acting the fan when asked about the man he once worked alongside in Brisbane.
"I grew up playing under him. I was in the under-20s system when he was playing and I was sort of looking up to him," Taylor said of Hunt.
"I know what he can do on the field, he can do some pretty freakish stuff ... we're going to have our hands full on the weekend."
Hunt's big-money move to the Dragons has so far paid off, with the half leading them to top spot after two rounds.
He and captain Gareth Widdop have established themselves as one of the form halves pairings in the NRL during the opening two rounds, with a hand in six of the eight tries to give the Dragons the second best attack in the competition.
In his last outing against the Titans, as a makeshift Broncos hooker, Hunt scored three and set up three more in a 54-0 drubbing.
But Brennan isn't handing out compliments and doesn't think Taylor should be either.
"I think Ash has just got to worry about himself and the team," the coach said.
"He's very focused. I've seen him mature a lot ... don't think he's going to get too caught up in the Ash Taylor verse Ben Hunt challenge."
Prop Jarrod Wallace will return from suspension for his first game of the season, giving Brennan his strongest side yet as they aim to deny the Dragons just their third 3-0 start since becoming a joint venture in 1999.
STATS THAT MATTER
- Despite winning its first match of the season, Gold Coast have won just one of its past nine matches.
- Ben Hunt has five tries and five try assists against the Titans in his past four matches, including a hat-trick in his last encounter.
- The Titans are missing the most tackles per game (41.5) and allowing the second most line breaks (6.5 per game) in the competition.
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