Benji warns Warriors of Prince danger

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READY TO GO: Inspirational Titans skipper Scott Prince has declared his body would not keep him out of tonight's NRL qualifying final against the Warriors.

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Kiwis captain Benji Marshall has warned the Warriors they face the most influential figure in the NRL finals when they play the Titans on the Gold Coast tonight.

Marshall dished out that accolade to Titans co-captain Scott Prince.

Prince has shrugged off a shoulder problem to line up against the Warriors at Skilled Park in Robina.

And he is the biggest dangerman in the game right now, according to Marshall, who will also be in the forefront of everybody's minds when he calls the shots for the Wests Tigers in the playoffs.

Marshall was dubbed "the most feared player" by the rival captains earlier in the week but he was happy to deflect the spotlight to Prince, the dynamic Titans halfback.

"With their home semi on Friday, and his effect on the Titans, I think Princey will be the most influential and dangerous player," Marshall told the Daily Telegraph.

"Just from playing with him (in 2005) and against him this year, he's come along in leaps and bounds. To get where he is now, he's brought that team a long way.

"The halves will have a big influence on a lot of teams, like Todd Carney and Mitchell Pearce will for the Roosters, but my pick out of everyone would be Scott Prince."

Prince's only handicap might be the dominance he has at the Titans. With fullback Preston Campbell out with a hamstring injury, the Titans' attack will rely heavily on Prince, giving it a one-dimensional look.

Prince is certain to be targeted by the Warriors.

As for his own form as he gets set to lock horns with Todd Carney, the Sydney Roosters playmaker who won the Dally M Medal, Marshall believed he had plenty of improvement left in him, suggesting he had only been operating at about 80 percent.

He was much more comfortable with the prospect of finals football now, especially since he was finally fully fit again.

"I feel it's taken me two or three years to get back to where I am now," Marshall said.

"I knew when I was injured, it would take me a bit of time to generate some momentum. But to have played every game this season for the first time in my career - a lot of people probably don't understand what that means to me - it has been a big factor towards me getting back to where I am.

"I'll only get better the more games I can string together."

He believed he was better equipped to cope with the pressures of the finals than he was in 2005 when he helped the Tigers to the title.

"I think if anything I won't take it for granted as much this time around. I was so young back then. Now I want to be there until the end, and this one will mean a lot more to me if we do get there to the end."

He felt the Tigers were a good chance this year.

"We've got a great blend of experience and youth, a great combination of talent and hardness in the forwards," Marshall said.

"And when you've got players playing for each other, you become a hard team to beat."

- © Fairfax NZ News