Winning three on the trot is a feat the Titans would love to achieve to cement their top eight position but standing in the way is a Knights army with more than plenty to play for.
With their opposition having been met with criticism for how they spent their bye week, Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook is under no illusion knocking off the Novocastrians on their home turf will be an easy task, particularly on a Sunday afternoon in Newcastle.
“[Three in a row] is the idea. We want to keep winning and the last couple of weeks have been great, but we’ve got to make sure we start again,” he said.
“It’s going to be a tough assignment in Newcastle and they’ve obviously freshened up from the bye and faced a bit of scrutiny which has only motivated them.
“We’re well aware of that and we have to make sure we play well against them.”
Only naming one change from the winning 17 that defeated the Eels in Magic Round, experienced dummy-half Kruise Leeming comes onto the bench to replace young gun Keano Kini in what will be his fourth NRL appearance after making the switch from the English Super League earlier this season.
“With Keano last week, he was more on standby for Kieran [Foran] and obviously he did a good job in getting through the game, so now with Kruise, we’ve got a genuine No. 9 to add a bit of spark when he comes on,” Holbrook said.
“As we all know, Chris [Randall] has been doing a great job for us there, but we have the option to bring Kruise on at some stage of the game to be really lively around the ruck and he’ll be a really good asset for us.”
The occasion at McDonald Jones Stadium will also be David Fifita’s 50th appearance for the Titans, with the powerful edge forward being one of the club’s best to start this season.
“It’s awesome for Dave and him playing his 50th game as a Titan and in particular this year, he’s been in tremendous form,” Holbrook said.
“We really want that to continue when we face the Knights.”