Born and raised in Toowoomba, Friend started playing league at the age of five for Wests Juniors, staying with the club until under-15 level.

In 2007, Friend played on the interchange bench in the Titans' inaugural game, a 20–18 home loss to the St George Illawarra Dragons.

He played as starting hooker in all of the club's matches in 2009 as the Gold Coast reached the finals for the first time, finishing in third place.

Their season ended in disappointment with the Titans losing both of their finals games to the Brisbane Broncos and Parramatta Eels respectively.

Friend was also given an opportunity to play State of Origin due to an injury to first choice hooker Cameron Smith before game one.

He was upended and displayed his best acrobatic moves after chasing a Chad Townsend bomb kick, delivering a back flip pass between his legs to Sam Tomkins.

[8][9] On 30 July 2015, after four years with the Warriors, Friend signed a 1-year contract to return to the Gold Coast, starting in 2016.

[10] Friend retired at the end of the 2016 NRL season and now works as a bricklayer, a job he did part time during his playing career.