Melbourne may fear no one but Wests Tigers superstar Benji Marshall sees rejuvenated premiers St George Illawarra as the biggest threat heading into this year's finals series.

The Tigers take on the Dragons in a blockbuster opening to the finals at ANZ Stadium, and Marshall is adamant there is no point looking beyond Friday night's contest.

"I still think they're No.1," Marshall said of the Dragons.

"In the big games, they know how to win. They've been there and they've done that. They've proved it.

"They've been the benchmark for two years, apart from the few games they lost throughout the end of the year. They're definitely still a big, big threat and, in my eyes, they're No.1.

"... any team that's coached by Wayne Bennett and with the squad they have is dangerous.

"They've just found their confidence again and that's pretty much all they were lacking a couple of weeks back."

There are many pundits who believe this year's premiership winner could emerge from Friday night's contest, and there are some not discounting the possibility that the two could yet battle it out for the main prize at the same venue on the first Sunday in October.

While the Tigers and Dragons have seemingly gathered momentum approaching the finals, the same can't be said of top-two sides Melbourne and Manly.

Storm skipper Cameron Smith pointed to injuries, suspensions and resting policies as contributing factors in the minor premiers' two-game losing streak, and was adamant his side would get back on track against Newcastle on Sunday.

"There's not a team in this competition that we fear. There's no-one that we think 'well I hope we don't meet them' because, in the end, if you want to win the grand final, you've got to play some good teams - that's starting this weekend for us.

"Our focus is the Knights. We're not looking to who we might be playing if we are to win."

Manly and Melbourne's premiership chances were dealt a huge blow by suspensions to key players, and Brisbane may find themselves in the same boat with forward leader Sam Thaiday in danger of being rubbed out for three games over a dangerous throw.

"He's a Test player, he's a State of Origin player so he'd be a big loss," Broncos skipper Darren Lockyer said of Thaiday.

"The Broncos this year, though, when we've had injuries and suspensions, we've brought in a young player that's done the job.

"If Sam gets suspended, we'll deal with it and move on - if he doesn't, fantastic."

Asked about the openness of the finals series, Lockyer said: "It changes on a monthly basis - a month ago, we were talking about Melbourne being unbeatable.

"I know they rested a couple of players yesterday, the Dragons are back on track - it changes on a weekly basis which does indicate it's an open competition."

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