Gold Coast Titans coach Justin Holbrook has revealed he is relieved that Tom Trbojevic won't be fronting up for the Manly Sea Eagles in Saturday night's clash.
Manly were able to start what will be a month-long stint without Trbojevic in positive fashion last week, recording a 30 points to 6 win over the Newcastle Knights.
It followed a Trbojevic-inspired win the week before in Mudgee over the Canberra Raiders, and was their third on the hop following a slow start to the season.
The Titans, on the other hand, have struggled to find form, with their only win in the last three weeks coming in a dour 8-6 game against the Wests Tigers, where the only try was scored with just 30 seconds remaining on the clock.
With his team in dire need of a victory, Holbrook told AAP he wasn't wishing Trbojevic was on the park.
"He's such a good player in the competition, isn't he?," Holbrook said.
"They won quite easily last week without him so they'll be confident but from us, yeah, I mean I'd be lying if I said I wished he was playing, wouldn't I?
"I'm not going to lie you. I'm OK that he's not playing but they're still such a dangerous side so we'll have to play well."
Reuben Garrick filled in for Trbojevic last week and will do the job again this week.
The Titans themselves are currently relying on second string fullback Jamayne Isaako, who they only signed from the Brisbane Broncos a number of weeks ago on a short-term deal.
That came with Jayden Campbell currently recovering from injury, while the Titans also welcome back Brian Kelly from COVID-19.
Holbrook's side are currently tenth on the NRL table, two spots behind the Sea Eagles.
The Sea Eagles will host the Titans on Saturday evening, with kick-off scheduled for 5:30pm (AEST) at 4 Pines Park.
