He might be one of the most intimidating front-rowers in the NRL right now, but back-fence king Spencer Leniu has admitted to being a bag of nerves when he was first asked to start for the Sydney Roosters.
Leniu has played close to 90 per cent of his NRL career often coming off the interchange and skittling tiring defenders.
But with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves sidelined, he has been tasked by Trent Robinson with leading the Roosters' charge from the get-go.
Robinson said prior to last week's 34-30 win over Manly the Roosters hoped Leniu would fill the void left by Waerea-Hargreaves, who will finish up at the club at the end of this season.
NSW prop Leniu, who has again been named to start against the Dolphins at Perth's HBF Park on Friday, said the prospect of setting the tempo left him feeling slightly daunted.
"I feel good every time I get that starting opportunity, it's a thrill … but it makes me nervous," Leniu told AAP.
"It's the longest day and it makes me nervous.
"But running out alongside Lindsay (Collins) he gives me inspiration that guy with the way he goes about his business.
"It's really big shoes to fill (with Jared out) but when you're on the bench you can settle your nerves and see how the game evolves.
"When you start you have to set the tone and all the things like that … it gives me a new challenge to get me up, I've played 80-odd games coming off the bench and to start excites me."
Leniu has become a fan favourite for bringing the crowd into games and asking them to rev him up as he prepares to return a kick-off.
But says he may leave those antics on the back-burner for the meantime.
"I might have to put it away because they (Manly) scored three tries after that," Leniu said.
"Everytime I interact with the crowd it gives me a thrill - they pay money and they want to be entertained so I try to do that."
The meeting with Wayne Bennett's Dolphins gives the Roosters a chance to show a killer instinct and bolster their credentials as premiership contenders.
Robinson said the Roosters needed to learn to lead games after comfortably scoring against Manly before nearly being run down late on.
"It's frustrating sometimes but you've got to learn your lessons and work on it," Leniu said.
"I think that's the beauty of where we're at at the moment, we're in a good spot.
"We've still got a couple of weeks to right our wrongs going into finals and I'm sure come finals we'll be humming."
