Dolphins five-eighth Kodi Nikorima was given his NRL debut by Wayne Bennett eight years ago but the incentive to excel for the coach has not worn thin.
"With his aura, you want to perform. You don't want to let him down," Nikorima said ahead of Sunday's clash with the Gold Coast at Suncorp Stadium.
"Going into a game first and foremost you don't want to let yourself down but having him as a coach, speaking from personal experience, you never want to come into meetings and get put on show in front of him.
"It doesn't matter how old you are, he will let you know about it."
Nikorima, 29, will partner 19-year-old halfback Isaiya Katoa for the third consecutive week after the Dolphins lost halves Sean O'Sullivan (torn pectoral) and Anthony Milford (hamstring) to injury in consecutive rounds.
Bennett rang Nikorima to ask him whether he wanted the No.6 or No.7 on his back after Milford got injured.
While the positions aren't too dissimilar, Nikorima's faith in Katoa as a game manager came to the fore in his response.
"Wayne gave me a call after Milf went down and asked me if I was picking the team where I would pick myself," Nikorima explained.
"I said, 'I would pick myself at six'. He said, 'I thought you would have said seven'.
"I'd seen what Izzy (Katoa) brings in the pre-season. He is very vocal, has an old head on his shoulders and I love his tempo.
"He has done a tremendous job for such a young kid. My role is more of that running half instead of directing play."
Nikorima and Katoa trained a lot together as a halves pairing in the pre-season so the transition has been more seamless than it otherwise would have been.
A player who also has utility value, Nikorima had his best season in the NRL in the halves in 2018 at the Broncos.
"I love being under Wayne," Nikorima said.
"He gave me my debut in 2015. It was unfortunate what happened at the end of 2018 when he got let go. Obviously I followed suit (to the Warriors) not long after that.
"(Bennett) keeps it simple for me. I don't like being fed too much information.
"For myself (Bennett's message) is making sure I defend well. In attack he just wants me to run the ball."
Both the Dolphins and Titans had disappointing losses last week. The Titans beat the Dolphins comfortably in a pre-season clash.
"We want to turn the screws this week. I am expecting a pretty hungry Titans team," Nikorima said.
"They got us in the pre-season which I am sure we haven't forgotten about, so we are definitely looking to get them back."
