THE first time Knights prop Daniel Saifiti touches the ball in tomorrow's do-or-die final in Auckland, he'll be looking for a familiar face in the Warriors' defensive line and running straight at him.
And Mitch Barnett would expect nothing less.
"We're both in the middle, so there's no avoiding each other," Barnett said with a laugh.
"That's the competitive spirit coming out in us. We both want to win and we'll be doing whatever we can to get the job done.
"But whoever wins, I've got some great mates in that Newcastle team and that will never change."
Barnett played 126 NRL games for the Knights, twice winning the Danny Buderus Medal as the club's player of the year, before crossing the Tasman on a three-year deal at the end of last season.
"It's funny how things work out," the 29-year-old enforcer said.
"But I believe both teams deserve to be playing finals footy. We've had two very different seasons but at the end of the day, we've earned the right to be in this position."
After joining the Knights midway through 2016, Barnett had to wait four seasons for his first taste of play-off action.
In contrast, he has helped rebuild the Warriors from the ground up in less than 12 months.
"To go as well as we have, if you'd told me before I came here, I would've been surprised," he said.
"But once I got here and started training, and then we started playing games, I soon realised what a good football team we've got here.
"But we're not satisfied with what we've done yet. We've got a big game this week against Newcastle and we want to win that and move onto next week."
Barnett's season was interrupted by the recurrence of neck injury that sidelined him for 10 weeks and may require off-season surgery, similar to the disc fusion he underwent in 2020.
"It probably sounds worse than it is," he said. "Plus when you're winning, the bumps and bruises never seem as bad."
Asked if he planned to test out Barnett's defence, Saifiti replied: "For sure. I did that last time we played too.
"It's funny with Barney. We sort of smile at each other before we take a run, because we know that someone is going to get hurt - or we'll both get hurt.
"There's a few of us that have played with Barney for quite a few years, and he's one of my best mates.
"But for those 80 minutes, he won't be a mate. It's football and whoever wins, wins."
Saifiti's twin brother Jacob is another one of Barnett's closest pals, along with Lachlan Fitzgibbon.
"What you see is what you get with Barney," Jacob said. "He's an aggressive player and I'm sure he'll be flying out the line at a few of us, and obviously we'll need to get our bumper bars up.
"He's been playing great footy with his front-row partner in [Addin] Fonua-Blake."
A sell-out crowd is expected at Mt Smart Stadium but Barnett warned: "That doesn't guarantee you a win, either.
"We've still got to go out there and perform, and we know how well Newcastle have been playing."
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