Steel sharpens steel, says Kangaroos prop Lindsay Collins, who will aim to blunt the hopes of a New Zealand pack led by Sydney Roosters teammate Jared Waerea-Hargreaves in their Rugby League World Cup semi-final.
Waerea-Hargreaves sat out the Kiwis' 24-18 quarter-final win over Fiji with suspension and could now return for an all-Antipodean showdown at Elland Road on Friday (Saturday AEDT) with a place in the final up for grabs.
Collins credits Waerea-Hargreaves as his mentor and claims the Kiwi enforcer's rough-and-tumble style has taught him the dark arts of front-row play.
"Jazz (Waerea-Hargreaves) has been doing it consistently for so many years," Collins said.
"I have gotten closer to him and learned the tricks of the trade.
"It's the cliche saying, but steel sharpens steel.
"If you want to be better then you've got to hang around with the best.
"He has been the best front-rower in the last decade, to go up against him in an international game it's very exciting."
Collins says that despite their tough-as-teak appearances, he and Waerea-Hargreaves spent a lot of time having "chats in the spa".
He also claimed the Kangaroos wouldn't need to bait the veteran Kiwis prop into making next weekend's battle a heated one.
"I don't think (it takes) much (to set him off)," Collins said.
"You know what he's going to bring.
"That's a front-rower thing, the battle, you play footy to test yourself."
There's another good friend of Collins in the Kiwis side.
Joey Manu is usually a centre with the Roosters but has arguably been the best fullback at this tournament.
It puts Manu on a collision course with Kangaroos and Roosters captain James Tedesco and while Collins was loath to compare the pair he said the Kiwi's switch to fullback would pose his side problems.
"He (Manu) has been good, I've seen a lot of highlights," Collins said.
"It's Joey being Joey, pulling s**t out of his back pocket.
"That's what he does, that's why we love him. For the Kiwis, having him around the ruck similar to what 'Teddy' does, then he's swinging out the back of shape.
"He (Manu) is everywhere and they both do that really well. You're in the thick of it, seeing pink elephants and you've got Joey running at you, it's a bit daunting."
