The Gold Coast Titans know they’ll to control the influence of Cowboys skipper Johnathon Thurston when the two sides meet in Townsville on Saturday evening.

A win over the premiers would see the Titans sneak into the finals in 8th place.

Fullback Jarryd Hayne (pictured) has played with an against Thurston for many years and he says the North Queensland skipper will likely go down in history as the best player ever to play the game.