Shutting down the "world's best team" with your best player suspended is as daunting a challenge as it sounds for Brisbane NRL recruit Kurt Capewell.
But the former Penrith premiership star says those examinations were a big reason he joined the battling former powerhouse, who face his former side on Friday.
"I'm not scared of a challenge; this club is a great club with so much history," Queensland State of Origin back-rower Capewell said of his decision to head to Red Hill.
"You see the athletes here, the players we've got; I was looking forward to the challenge of (getting) them playing their best footy and turning it around.
"And they're (Penrith) the world's best team at the moment.
"If we want to compete with them we'll have to put it all together."
The premiers have shown no signs of a hangover in 2022, storming to a 5-0 start and boasting a league-best 78-point differential.
Brisbane started with two wins but have lost their past three, although the alarm bells ringing after their round-four loss to the Warriors were quelled in an improved 24-20 loss to the Sydney Roosters last week.
They'll likely be without star prop Payne Haas, who would need to successfully appeal a one-game suspension issued on Tuesday following his physical altercation with teammate Albert Kelly last month.
Haas, 22, is a three-time winner of the club's best and fairest award, but has now been punished following as many NRL integrity unit investigations.
Capewell said the scuffle, which was apparently sparked when Kelly trod on Haas's new shoes, had no bearing on their form slump but that a suspension would mean others need to step up.
"We didn't read into that too much; it as probably built up a bit and we know what type of culture we've got at this club and what we're trying to drive," he said.
"With performances (like the one against the Roosters) every week we can hold our heads high.
"We showed a lot more energy in the smaller detailed areas."
Capewell did his best to explain how Brisbane would attempt to curb Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary's influence in Friday's clash.
"He's a tough, tough player to shut down," he said.
"Great kicking game, so you try get in a grind with them, get that back and forth and have them playing out of their own end where they're least dangerous."
