Gold Coast will rest State of Origin stars Nate Myles and Greg Bird for this weekend's NRL clash against Manly.
The pair were not named by coach John Cartwright on Tuesday to take on the Sea Eagles with both expected to be physically and mentally drained by Wednesday's Origin decider in Sydney.
Despite being thrashed in consecutive weeks by Newcastle and Penrith before last weekend's bye, Cartwright says it's better for the club to rest the pair.
"The important thing for Nate and Birdy is to refresh," he told reporters.
"It's a big pressure period in the middle of the season and we expect a lot out of those players.
"As a team we've decided it's best they get this game (Origin) out of their system, give it everything they've got and we'll get them back when we play Souths."
Having the option to recall David Taylor, Beau Falloon and Brad Takairangi for the Sea Eagles clash probably made the call easier for Cartwright.
The key trio will all return from injury with hooker Falloon set for his first appearance since breaking his fibula against Brisbane in round 10.
Takairangi (ribs) and Taylor (sternum) both missed the losses to the Knights and the Panthers but Cartwright said the team had moved on from those defeats.
"We've dealt with it. Seen the areas we thought we were weak in, there's no hiding from it," he said.
"Had a good hard week last week, rested up over the weekend and we're excited to get down to Manly."
Titans: Jordan Rankin, Kevin Gordon, Brad Takairangi, Jamie Dowling, David Mead, Aidan Sezer, Albert Kelly, Luke Bailey, Matt Srama, Luke Douglas, David Taylor, Mark Minichiello, Ashley Harrison. Interchange (one to be omitted): Mark Ioane, Ryan James, Ben Ridge, Beau Falloon, Luke O'Dwyer.
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