Manly premiership winner Mark "Spudd" Carroll is excited to see two of the premier front rowers of the NRL clash on Saturday night when Tino Fa'asuamalaeui of the Gold Coast Titans takes on the Brisbane Bronco's Payne Haas.
A retired prop himself, Carroll knows all about hitting his opponents as hard as he can, and so do the pair at the centre of this discussion.
They've been facing each other since their school days, but State of Origin 2020 saw them both sin-binned after a scuffle between them broke out, and they've been billed as rivals ever since.
"I want Payne and Tino to go out and bash each other," Carroll told the AAP.
"You don't give away penalties for hitting anyone too hard. I want you to get that down on paper,
"I want these two guys to go at each as hard as they can ... like Jake Trbojevic does for Manly. He is the best tackler I have seen since Steve Menzies.
"Our game now compared to the game we played ... these days they play in linen gloves."
However, Fa'asuamalaeui has nothing but praise for his NSW counterpart labelling him the game's best and insisting he doesn't go out of his way to target him.
"That (2020) Origin moment was three years ago but that is footy. It is an aggressive sport," he told AAP.
"I love it. He loves it. Payne is definitely the best prop in the game. We have a lot of respect for each other.
"I don't go out to target him but in footy you go as hard as you can. That is the way I play. It is the way he plays."
Carroll echoed the same sentiment about the Blues enforcer, who many consider the best prop in today's game, but saved special mention for Fa'asuamalaeui, who he believes has come along in strides since the World Cup.
"Payne always lands on his elbows, never on his back. Week-in and week-out he does 20 hit-ups, runs 150m and scores tries ... makes tackle breaks and does offloads," he said.
"My God, he has gone to a new level, but I love Tino too. He has come back from playing for Australia (at the World Cup) a better player. Whoever does the better hit-ups and run metres between those two will win the game.
"I have a high regard for both of them and I wish them all the best."
The Titans take on the Broncos in the third game on Saturday evening, kicking off at 7:35 PM at Cbus Super Stadium.
