Stop big Manu Vatuvei and you stop the Warriors - that's the message coming from Titans skipper Scott Prince ahead of Sunday's clash at Mt Smart Stadium.
Running over an impressive 13 tries from 12 matches, the 112kg battering ram has single-handedly led New Zealand's charge into the top-eight, with an impressive five match hot streak helping to stamp its credentials as a genuine finals contender.
Prince said isolating Vatuvei's surging runs at both the front and back-end of the Warriors' sets would be a determining factor in the outcome of the match, but with help coming from former Kiwi international Clinton Toopi and brutal forward Bodene Thompson, defensive optimism remains high.
"He's a big boy and he's on my side so I might have my work cut out for me," Prince said on Friday.
"But hopefully with the help of Toops and Bodene on the inside and outside, we'll be able to contain him."
"He starts their sets off really well and they play a lot of good footy off the back of his runs, so he's one of the players that we have to watch especially."
However knowing that the Warriors aren't exactly bullet proof at home, Prince said it won't be mission impossible for Gold Coast to get a result in Auckland, with the last four meetings going in favour of the Titans including their most recent 24-18 Round 1 win at Skilled Park.
"We know we have beaten them over there before so it's not mission impossible that's for sure."
"We just have to go over with the right attitude and an attention to detail like we showed last week."
"Every game is important from now on in and all the boys are quietly confident especially off the back of a very good win against the Dragons last week."
"We all know that win got our season and eyes back on the prize, but it won't mean nothing if we can't back it up against the Warriors this week," he said.
Two more wins would just about guarantee a finals berth for both sides, with New Zealand (24 points) sitting in sixth and Gold Coast (24 points) in seventh, but the imperative for Titans coach John Cartwright is that his squad creates their own destiny heading into the pointy end of the season.
"You're never guaranteed of anything in the NRL, but a win would be very nice and would put us in front of the Warriors leaving destiny in our own hands," Cartwright stressed.
"It's a very tough ask though with them coming off a bit of a loss against the Rabbitohs...they'll be keen to atone that and they're in the same position as we are,"
"They want to win so they can keep everything in their control,"
Expecting a hostile reception as the Titans run onto the pitch, Cartwright added that friendly support will be at a premium, but believes last week's strong showing away from home has given his charges a thicker skin when the decibels begin to rise around the ground.
"At home the Warriors are always tough and they get a very noisy crowd and they can have an influence on things that happen on the field,"
"That's not going to change and hopefully it won't be any worse than last week when we didn't have many friends in the crowd, so I don't think we'll have many this week either." he said.