When David Fifita found out the news his skipper was being rested from Sunday's clash against the Broncos, he knew what responsibility followed.
Having relished the opportunity to be a senior figure within the Titans squad upon re-signing for a further three seasons on the Coast, the 97-game forward quickly came back into club land from Queensland's emphatic victory with a full focus on beating the big brothers up the road... and it's fair to say he didn't let his side down.
In an inspirational 80-minute performance coming only four days after Origin II, the 23-year-old stood up in Tino Fa'asuamaleaui's absence and delivered a showing that was arguably one of his best in his career.
"To have our leader not out there, myself, Moe [Fotuaika] and Brimmo (AJ Brimson) backing up from Origin had to step up and not just us... everyone had to step up," Fifita said.
"I'm always grateful and blessed to put on that Queensland jersey and to play on Wednesday night and get the win... I really wanted to back it up and get the win against the Broncos to get the bragging rights.
"I'm really proud of the boys' efforts out there especially after the week that we had. All of us are sticking together and our staff is sticking together and moving on.
"We can only control what we can control as players and for us to stick together and get the win means a lot."
Match highlights: Broncos v Titans
Finishing with 135 running metres, nine tackle breaks, a try, a try assist and 29 tackles, his hard-working efforts earned him the Scott Prince Medal for his influence on-field in helping get the crucial two points against Brisbane... as well as being met with applause from Titans interim head coach Jim Lenihan.
"This might sound silly, but I really think Dave is growing into a man," he said.
"No doubt his natural ability helps him so much instantly, but the amount of work that he’s put into evolving his game and doing all the harder runs and less flashier runs and doing a lot more details hard work has got him back into a situation where he’s playing State of Origin and good NRL football.
"He can always come up with something special all the time, but his ability to mentally get around the fact he’s going to work hard, gives us a far more-rounded team."
Helping the Titans star continue his upwards trajectory in 2023 has been experienced playmaker Kieran Foran - someone Fifita is continually thankful to have joined the Gold Coast to help unlock his best rugby league, which certainly occurred when the duo partnered up to become a lethal left edge on Sunday afternoon.
"Kieran's been massive for us this year and to play with him on my edge, I'm so grateful to have an older head telling me what to do and what not do to... you have to listen to him because he's Kieran Foran," Fifita said.
"But I think it goes both ways... I tell him what to do, he tells me what to do. But I do listen to him and have heaps of respect for him.
"He's a great player and I've got high praise for him... I say it every week."
