Alofiana Khan-Pereira may only be two tries away from smashing his own club try-scoring record again... but that's not what the Titans flyer is most proud of in 2024.
Currently at 19 tries this year as he also nears another incredible feat - having found the white stripe 39 times in only 38 appearances to notch a 62-year-old record - the young gun is humbly wanting to dismiss his try-scoring accolades and instead credit his increased focus on defence as the catalyst of his success this season.
"I haven't been too worried about [scoring] tries... I’ve been more worried about my defence and that’s led to the tries and the outcome of my season," Khan-Pereira said.
"When I was first coming into the NRL, my attack was my main focus and I didn’t think too much about my defence, but Des (Hasler) is big on having a defensive mindset.
"Working with him has brought something that I never thought I could unlock and I’ve been doing that this year."
A continued work in progress for the 22-year-old who found himself back in the Hostplus Cup for a week after the first month to continue improving on his defence, the relegation to reserve grade lit a fire in Khan-Pereira's belly that has seen him flourish since his return in Round 6.
"It was a bit difficult for me to understand it, but I trusted in Des' decision and his choices and it brought a different beast out of me," he said.
"It’s led to where I am today. It was probably a blessing in disguise.
"He’s trying to better us and make us play better."
Match: Titans v Broncos
Round 22 -
home Team
Titans
13th Position
away Team
Broncos
12th Position
Venue: Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast
Following an impressive second half resurrection to down the Dolphins on Sunday, the speedster now has their other South East Queensland rival in his sights, wanting to shake the moniker of being labelled the Broncos' smaller sibling.
"I don’t know if we feel like the little brother. We want to be the big brother and we want to bully them around. We’re going into the game with our heads up and chins up and we’re confident.
"They definitely need this win just as much as we do so it’s going to be a very tough game.
"It’s a sold out game so there’s a lot of pressure on both teams. It’s going to be awesome and we can’t wait. We’re all so keen.
"We want this win and we need this win."
