Gold Coast star Jarryd Hayne rates young Titans five-eighth Kane Elgey so highly that he believes he has a better long pass than Andrew Johns.
Elgey, 22, missed all of last season with a knee injury, but came back to train with the team before their elimination finals loss to Brisbane - and it was all Hayne needed to see to compare him to the rugby league's eighth Immortal.
"(Former Parramatta half) Timmy Smith and Joey Johns had some great long balls that really caught your eye," Hayne said.
"But I think Kane, the way he can throw it from left to right, was something I've never seen before."
Elgey debuted for the Titans in 2015, and was the club's rookie of the year that season before he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee in January, ruling him out of 2016.
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The Gold Coast junior still faces a battle to reclaim his spot in 2017 from Tyrone Roberts, who partnered with Ash Taylor in 2016 to take the club to the finals for the first time since 2010.
But Hayne already can't wait for the opportunity to spend the pre-season alongside him.
"It's going to be exciting to see him run around," he said.
"His long ball is unbelievable - probably one of the best I've ever seen," Hayne said.
Elgey is yet to combine with Taylor, Hayne or hooker Nathan Peats in a match - the latter two only joining the club midway through last season.
The pre-season will also give Hayne his first chance to combine extensively with the team's halves.
He played nine games with Peats at the Eels in 2014.
"That's really important and having us all back," Hayne said.
"To get the majority of us back together for a good three months solid, that's going to be huge for us.
"We are expecting a big year next year. We've got a lot going for us but now it's about putting the runs on the board."
