Utility Ben Te'o is hoping to sidestep Brisbane's "centre curse" as well as Bulldogs giant Jamal Idris in Friday night's NRL showdown at ANZ Stadium.

Te'o finds himself back in the centres against the `Dogs after Matt Gillett (knee) became the latest victim of an injury bogey which has already claimed big guns Justin Hodges and Israel Folau.

"I'm not a legitimate centre so maybe I'll survive the curse," laughed Te'o.

Gillett wasn't a centre either, but it still claimed the promising utility last weekend.

Te'o has a sizeable defensive job on his hands controlling Idris, last year's Dally M rookie of the year, who at 194cm and 115kg cuts a fearsome figure.

Te'o is no shrinking violet at 103kg and close to 190cm with enough pace to cause Idris some defensive headaches of his own.

"Ben might run over the top of him too, he's no little fella and he's quite an athlete," said Brisbane coach Ivan Henjak of the big-man battle.

While Te'o agreed his defensive workload was a lot smaller playing in the backs, he felt he could have to make some tough decisions.

"There's a bit less defence but the decisions are pretty hard out there," he said on Wednesday.

"I'll probably be marking (Jamal) Idris on the weekend so I've got a big job to do there.

"I'm a forward playing out in the backs and sometimes when I have to mark some quick guys, I get a bit hesitant.

"But Idris is a big guy, so I'm not too worried as long as he doesn't run over me, which I'm not going to let him do."

Henjak said youngster Ben Hunt was excited about playing in the No.7 against seasoned veteran Brett Kimmorley in place of the injured Peter Wallace.

Hunt experienced a pressure-packed NRL debut against Cronulla last year when Brisbane's Origin stars were away but he'll play inside Darren Lockyer and have Israel Folau and Jharal Yow Yeh outside him.

"We threw a lot of kids in that night, including Ben, and it was a really tough ask," said Henjak.

"At least he's got a lot more experience around him and the players are a lot more comfortable with him and he's a lot more comfortable with them.

"You can just sense he's ready now."

Hunt is a different style of player to Wallace but very smart with the football.

"If we can control the footy well and field position, I think you'll see Ben play some pretty good footy," said Henjak.

"It's a really good opportunity for him now without any pressure to really have a crack.

"We've re-signed him, so he should feel secure and comfortable about his long-term future and he can go out and enjoy the night.

Te'o said the players had confidence in young Hunt.

"Last year he might not have been as confident, he was quite young, but out there at training he looks good, he hasn't missed a beat.

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