In spite of his $1.2-million man returning to the fullback role, Gold Coast NRL coach Neil Henry admits he has been pre-occupied with a rival No.1.
Jarryd Hayne has been named at fullback after playing in the centres as the Titans prepare to take on the Warriors at Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday.
But Henry says containing Warriors fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck will be vital to his team's chances of beating their New Zealand-based rivals.
The Kiwi fullback has been one of the competition's best, running for a whopping 1938m with 41 line breaks to his name already this season.
"Their fullback is very, very quick - they have some big wingers and rely on them heavily for their carries, it's going to be a big job for us," Henry said.
Adding to the fear factor of the Warriors' back three is their strong record at Robina.
They have won their last six games at the venue and beaten the Titans in 12 of their last 13 fixtures.
Both sides have been inconsistent this year in the NRL and sit level on the leaderboard with Gold Coast looking to break a two-game losing streak.
The Titans are likely to be without Tyrone Roberts, who has been shunted out of the fullback position for Hayne but also injured his shoulder earlier this week and was not at training on Friday morning.
They welcome back NSW State of Origin Origin hooker Nathan Peats who missed last week's loss against North Queensland after corking his thigh in the Blues win over Queensland.
It's likely to be the Titans' first game of the season where Henry has all his key players in place for 80 minutes.
After an injury-riddled start to the season, the coach's plan will finally come to fruition with Ash Taylor and Kane Elgey in the halves, Jarryd Hayne at fullback and Nathan Peats as hooker.
STATS THAT MATTER:
- The Titans have beaten the Warriors only once since 2010.
- The Warriors have lost all six away matches this season.
- Gold Coast's Ashley Taylor currently leads the NRL this season in try assists with 19, he has five more than the next best.
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