Gold Coast skipper Scott Prince has given rival playmaker Terry Campese some unlikely advice ahead of tomorrow's clash at Canberra Stadium, urging the Raiders five-eighth to forget his NSW axing.
Tomorrow's game presents Campese and teammates Tom Learoyd-Lahrs, Joel Monaghan and Alan Tongue with their last chance to impress NSW selectors ahead of Monday's team announcement.
All four are in the running to represent the Blues in the Origin III dead rubber at Suncorp Stadium on July15, while Raiders prop David Shillington is almost certain to be selected for Queensland this week.
Cronulla's Trent Barrett remains favourite to retain the Blues five-eighth jersey, after replacing Campese following Origin I.
But Campese will boost his chances if he leads the Raiders to their second win over a top-four team in a week.
Prince has experienced his fair share of representative disappointment.
The brilliant Titans halfback has been stuck behind the world's best No7, Johnathan Thurston, at both state and national level for years.
He urged Campese to forget NSW selection and focus on what he does best leading the Raiders around the field.
''All I can say is that I've been in a similar position before and my advice to him is just to keep working hard, keep playing good footy and the opportunities will come,'' Prince said. ''When they do come he's just got to take them with both hands and make the most of them.
''I think it's great that he was rewarded for a great year last year by getting selected for Australia and for NSW.
''Now he has to keep working hard.''
Campese and Prince played alongside each other against Papua New Guinea during Australia's failed World Cup campaign.
The Titans skipper said he had congratulated Campese via text message when he was selected for Origin I.
While Prince empathises with Campese's axing, his focus this weekend is on engineering the Raiders' downfall.
The Titans are in the middle of an injury crisis, with key players Mat Rogers (ribs), Luke Bailey (broken arm), Ashley Harrison (ribs), Mark Minichiello (ankle), Luke O'Dwyer (ankle) and Aaron Cannings (hamstring) all unavailable.
It's a similar predicament to the Titans' first two years in the NRL, when promising seasons were de-railed by injuries to key players.
Prince said the difference this year was the Titans had the depth to cover injury.
''It's just same old story to the last couple of years, but I think we're a bit more equipped this year,'' he said. ''The last two years we've had to throw guys in the deep end, whereas I think this year those guys that are coming in have been in this position before. They're well aware of what's required to play NRL football now and the guys and myself personally have got no doubts about the guys stepping in and taking the challenge up.''
Prince said former Raider William Zillman was a perfect example of the Titans' renewed depth.
Zillman will start at fullback tomorrow, having been primarily used as a bench utility this season.
''It's great to have Zilly in the squad,'' Prince said. ''He's not only a fine footballer, he's a great athlete.
''He can fill any number of positions.''