Warriors hooker Nathan Friend will be bearing no grudges when he runs out against Gold Coast in Saturday night’s NRL match in Auckland.

The match will be his first NRL appearance against his former club since they deemed him surplus to requirements.

“My emotion kind of spilled out last year during negotiation time and the thought of not being on the Coast to end my career,” he said.

“But that’s nearly 12 months ago now and I’ve certainly moved on. I’m in a happy place at the moment and my family are really loving where we’re situated at present.”

The workaholic Friend was a Gold Coast foundation player and last year, before shoulder surgery cut short his season, became the first Titan to notch up 100 first-grade matches.

The 31-year-old did come up against his old team earlier this year, setting up a try for the Warriors with a dummy-half snipe in a 26-10 pre-season win.

He was reading little in that result given that it was a trial and both sides had players involved in the All Stars game.

Like the Warriors, Gold Coast will head to Mt Smart Stadium with a win and two losses.

The Titans are backing up after a 30-6 defeat to Melbourne but Friend believes the scoreline belied the competitive effort they put up over the first three quarters.

“They’re a quality side and the forward pack has been terrific for the last three weeks – they’ve really held the fort,” he said.

“It was only a couple of freaky things that Melbourne did that they snuck away.”

Warriors coach Brian McClennan has been similarly impressed by what he’s seen of Gold Coast, last year’s wooden spooners whose off-season additions have included Nate Myles and Jamal Idris.

Big-money signing Idris hasn’t been named to face the Warriors because of a hamstring complaint, but McClennan believes he might play.

Myles and Idris are part of what McClennan regards as the Titans’ big threat, the number of players with big-game experience at Test and/or State of Origin level.

The contingent also includes Luke Bailey, Ashley Harrison, Greg Bird and Scott Prince.

“This is going to be a massive challenge for us,” McClennan said.

“They won’t be the Titans of last year.”

Warriors skipper Simon Mannering will bring up a double milestone of 150 NRL matches and 50 as captain.

Titans prop Luke Douglas, who joined from Cronulla at the end of last season, will notch up 150 consecutive NRL appearances since his debut in 2006 – a phenomenal run that is a record for a forward.