Shontayne Hape is confident he has what it takes to be the Bulls' Lyon-tamer.

Hape will tonight go head-to-head with St Helens' star Aussie centre Jamie Lyon as the Bulls bid for a fifth consecutive Grand Final appearance.

Lyon underlined his world-class talent in last Friday's Grand Final qualifier, scoring two tries and setting up another as Saints almost snatched a remarkable come-from-behind victory over Leeds Rhinos.

The unenviable task of marshalling the 'Wee Waa Kid' will fall to Hape in tonight's final eliminator - but the Kiwi international insists he is relishing the prospect.

"You always want to play against the best and he's one of the best centres in Super League," said Hape.

"It is always a big challenge when you mark someone like that. In the last eight minutes against Leeds they just gave him the ball and he almost won the game for them, so we'll have to be on our toes."

Hape believes stopping Lyon before he gets going will be the key to keeping him quiet.

"You've got to try to get up in his face before he gets the ball and try to force the ball back inside," said the Bulls star.

"When he does get the ball you've got to try to be there to tackle him straight away. That's the key. If you sit back and watch him and let him play then you are going to be in trouble.

"The last time we played against him we kept him pretty quiet. I think I missed one tackle on him. I'll be looking for help from the guys inside me because he's got that big right-foot step.

"If he goes on the outside I'll back myself to take him but if he goes on the inside I'll need some cover from Deacs or Brad."

Lyon will have plenty to deal with himself. The Bulls have not lost since Hape's return from a knee reconstruction that sidelined him for the first five months of the season.

The 23-year-old has averaged a try a match on his comeback, while his wing partner Lesley Vainikolo has scored 19 tries in eight matches since the deadly Kiwi duo were reunited.

"Lesley has been scoring tries for fun so we'll be looking to get him some more ball early and let him score his tries," said Hape, whose form has surprised even himself.

"I didn't think I'd come back and play this well but I have just gone from strength to strength.

"I'm just looking to put in a good performance tonight and hopefully have a rematch against Leeds.

"After that I want to push for the Tri-Nations, so there are still lots of things to play for."