It doesn’t matter whether it’s his twin brother or one of his best mates, Andrew Fifita insists any injured opponent taking an NRL field is fair game.
So the Cronulla star will have no hesitation in testing Robbie Farah’s leg injury should the Wests Tigers veteran take the field in Sunday’s clash.
A final decision has yet to be made on Farah’s status despite the retirement-bound Tigers hooker completing another training run with his teammates on Thursday.
If the 35-year-old plays then Fifita, a former teammate of Farah’s at the Wests Tigers, won’t be holding back at Leichhardt Oval.
“I’ve always embraced it that way,” Fifita said on Thursday.
“I have 16 other brothers in my team, and they’re the only people I really care about to be honest when we cross that white line.
“When we cross that white line, it’s a different story for me. No one’s friends on the paddock.
“Whether you’re my twin brother (David) or whether you’re one of my best mates on the other side of the field, there’s no friends on the footy paddock.”
Fifita was been targeted by opposition players, prompting him to downplay a knee injury.
“That’s why the tape’s gone now. I think that gave them opportunity to find which knee was injured. A lot of people really come after it,” he said, insisting he wouldn’t deliberately injure an opponent.
“My job’s easy, I just run hard and tackle hard. That’s it. It’s a contact sport but I’m not going out there to chase injuries.”
With Sharks captain Paul Gallen also retiring at the end of the season, the game will bring an end to the career of at least one modern-day stalwart.
The full-house sign is already up for what shapes as one of the biggest crowds at Leichhardt since 20,327 crammed into the ground in 2012.
Fifita has had plenty of experience playing at Leichhardt having played the first two seasons of his career at the Tigers and is relishing another opportunity to run out there.
“I just love the fans there. It’s a historic place to play footy,” he said.
“There was talk about never playing footy there again and for me, it’s my all-time favourite field to play at,” he said.
“Leichhardt was that suburban ground everyone used to love going out to for Sunday footy.”