From nurse to rival: Jayden and Blayke ready for first battle

Twelve months ago Sharks hooker Blayke Brailey was playing the role of nurse to older brother Jayden with the Telstra Premiership on hold and the Knights captain fresh off knee surgery.

On Friday night, the pair will line up against one another in a competitive match for the first time.

Jayden's move to the Knights opened the door for Blayke to cement the starting dummy-half role at the Sharks. It's a move that's working well for both siblings.

Younger brother Taj is also a promising young hooker coming through the Sharks system and will be among 15 family members watching on from the sidelines at McDonald Jones Stadium.

"Last time they [family] were up here I fitted them with Knights gear and they'll be sitting in the Knights section as I'm the one that got them tickets. So they'll be wearing Knights jerseys," Jayden said.

"It's something we've looked forward to for a long time. I'm a little bit nervous [but] excited as well. Hopefully, I'm the one that comes away with the win.

"We're different [players], I guess we'll see tomorrow night but we're both different in our own way, in our styles and who we are as people off the field as well.

"Besides him being my brother he's a big threat for us."

The Knights rake has been Newcastle's best player to start the season after he was restricted to just two games last year due to an ACL rupture in round two.

Blayke only had kind words to say about his older brother in the lead-up to the clash but you get the feeling that will change when the players hit the paddock. Both sides are desperate after 2-3 starts to the season.

"He had a short season last year, but this year he's come out firing. He's captain there and he's playing really well and it's exciting," Blayke said.

"We still bounce [ideas] off each other. I watch all of his games and he watches all of mine. If we're coming up against teams we’ve already played, we sort of bounce ideas and key threats he's seen.

"I keep in contact with him almost every day each week. It's going to be a bit weird but definitely something we're both looking forward to.”

Blayke will arrive on Friday with a Sharks side coming off the midweek appointment of Craig Fitzgibbon as coach from 2022 and the sudden departure of John Morris.

"I haven't spoken to him about all that [coaching changes] so I'm not too sure but we're expecting a strong outfit, one that might want to prove a point," Jayden said.

"We're sure they're going to come out firing. It's a massive game for us. We haven't had the results for the last couple of weeks."