League: Enforcer's tough talk falls on deaf ears

Luke O'Donnell says he "plays the game tough". Adam Pretty / Getty Images

Test football won't curb self-appointed enforcer Luke O'Donnell's mean streak with the debutant vowing to get down and dirty on a physical Kiwis pack if required in tomorrow's Tri-Nations league opener.

"I play the game tough, I take an aggressive approach in every game I play so I don't really like to think I'll slow myself up because it's a test," O'Donnell says.

The New Zealand camp wouldn't exactly rise to the bait offered by O'Donnell, who last year copped an 11-match suspension for breaking the jaw of then Canberra halfback Michael Monaghan.

Kiwis captain Ruben Wiki, who has played 44 more tests than O'Donnell, said the Kiwis would not necessarily meet fire with fire if the 24-year-old was seeking to mix it.

"The days of the biff are probably gone," said Wiki, who bears scars on both forearms from a career of heavy collisions.

"These days you can hit harder with a tackle than you can with a punch."

But Penrith Panthers second-rower Frank Pritchard suggested that the brash 24-year-old could be targeted by an experienced Kiwis pack which included O'Donnell's North Queensland clubmate, Paul Rauhihi.

"It's his first start so he won't know what to expect from us," said Pritchard, who earned his test spurs only six months ago in the Anzac Test.

He said he was willing to take on O'Donnell in a battle of the rookies.

"He'll be looking for a good game in his first test, and you can't under-estimate him.

"He's an 80-minute man ... but I'm up for the challenge. It'll be a couple of young guys going at it."

Regardless of the outcome, Pritchard can reflect on a successful year that saw him debut in Brisbane as a replacement for the injured Sonny Bill Williams.

He also owed injuries to Kiwis duo Joe Galuvao and Tony Puletua for a better than expected year at the foot of the Blue Mountains.

Pritchard was initially a bench player with the "hair bear duo" forming the second row but when Puletua was sidelined in April Pritchard relished the chance to start and ultimately missed just four of the Panthers' 26 regular-season games.

"TP's [Puletua] our power forward so I had to step up to the plate," Pritchard said.

The departure of Galuvao to South Sydney is also beneficial now that Puletua is back to full fitness.

"That also opens the door for me to start next year."

But far from worrying about Penrith, Pritchard said he was purely focused on the clash at Telstra Stadium tomorrow.

"I think we've got the forward pack to roll them a bit," he said.

"The key is yardage plays and taking them up the middle."

- NZPA