'Looking forward to the challenge': Inexperience no excuse for Dolphins derby

The Titans may be missing over 392 games of NRL experience this weekend, but Jim Lenihan has no intention of using that as an excuse against the Dolphins.

Having AJ Brimson, Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, David Fifita and Moeaki Fotuaika out of action on Origin duty, the Gold Coast will have a wealth of experience on the sidelines, but the interim club mentor is relishing the challenge against the first grade hardened combatants, especially after their shock comeback at Suncorp Stadium earlier in the year.

"They've got a very experienced forward pack and I think (Anthony) Milford comes back on the bench for them this week so they're getting a few troops back," Lenihan said.

"They're a team that specialises in not throwing the game away, so we've just got to keep working hard and play the long game against them, have an 80 minute performance and don't put ourselves in a position where we're unnecessarily putting ourselves under pressure.

"We've still got some really good players... Jimmy Jolliffe and Isaac Liu are playing some really good football, as is Erin Clark and Iszac Fa'asuamaleaui.

"We're certainly not legless going into this weekend. We're looking forward to the opportunity and the challenge of a playing a good forward pack and then measuring ourselves up against it and seeing where we land.

Narrowly going down to the Raiders in the nation's capital last weekend, the Titans remain in finals contention only two points out of the top eight, with their big focus to continue to build to ensure they are ready to fire at the pointy end of the season.

"I think we certainly are looking to improve and our last couple of performance has shown a bit of an improvement in our energy, but we still have to evolve and keep getting better at that sort of thing," Lenihan said.

"We were our own worst enemy and put ourselves in a position to lose the game [last week] and one thing the Dolphins do is they don't throw games away.

"They're very consistent in how they just keep playing consistent football, so for us this week, we've got to work hard on our defence, our yardage D and then just making sure we are more disciplined and keep our errors down."

Despite missing the Maroons stars for this Sunday's showdown, the personnel coming into the 17 to fill the void are no slouches, especially debutant Jacob Alick who gets his first opportunity in the NRL after banging down the door through the season at the Burleigh Bears.

"It's great for Jacob... he's a toiler and he's been working hard. He's not that old, but he seems like he's been around forever. I think he's only 23, so it's certainly a great experience and an opportunity for him to play NRL and become an NRL player," Lenihan said.

"For the rest of us, we obviously understand how many players are out this week with the big four out, but it's a great opportunity for us.

"We've got an opportunity to play the Dolphins at home and we're under no illusions of what's important for us this weekend.

"Going out this Sunday and going through a tough game against the Dolphins is what we're after."