Penrith ace Dylan Edwards has revealed he is driven by a desire to beat out his rival No.1 after adding Tom Trbojevic to the list of fullbacks he has out-gunned this year.
Edwards bagged four tries in the Panthers' win over Manly on Saturday night, busting through 13 tackles in one of the most dominant individual performances of this year.
The fullback has also routinely risen to the occasion against South Sydney and Latrell Mitchell, starring against them in finals matches and playing well in the round-two win over the Rabbitohs this year.
He will meet the NRL's next up-and-coming star No.1 this weekend, in the biggest test of Newcastle fullback Lachlan Miller's career to date.
Edwards said he did not have a chip on his shoulder against big-name No.1s, as suggested by coach Ivan Cleary on Saturday night, but made a point to win his positional battle.
"You always want to play better than your opposite number," Edwards said.
"If all the players in your side play better, then you are likely going to get the result. So you do want to have an impact on the game more than your opposite.
"Tommy is a class player, so it is hard to do that sometimes. We had a good result and that is the main thing."
Edwards won't allow himself to believe he belongs in the same category as the likes of Trbojevic, Mitchell and James Tedesco, but in reality he is not far off.
The Penrith custodian is the first two-time premiership-winning fullback since Parramatta's Paul Taylor in the 1980s to have never represented his state or country.
"I don't think about that kind of superstar rankings or anything like that," Edwards said.
"It's easy to stay level-headed out here. If anyone doesn't, everyone brings them back down.
"I don't think of myself as a superstar of the game or anything."
Nor does Edwards find it easy to compare himself to other fullbacks in his style of game, which has become perfectly suited to Penrith's run of dominance.
"I get through a bit of work, where Latrell has that x-factor and flair. Every fullback is different (according) to what their team needs," Edwards said.
"I work well with my team which is good and important to me.
"It's hard to compare myself to other fullbacks. If you look at it, everyone is different.
"I get through a bit of work, but at the moment I don't quite have that ball-playing ability like a Latrell or a Teddy (Tedesco).
"Teddy is probably that perfect mix. He has that class about him and gets through a tonne of work as well."
