It's fair to say this season has been a rollercoaster ride for Jaimin Jolliffe.
On top of the world with one of his most successful pre-seasons to date, his hard-work earned the ever-reliable prop a starting start for the season opener... but on the eve of Round 2, the 26-year-old was dealt a massive blow - rupturing his pec whilst in his final preparations to take on the Dragons.
But much like his humble beginnings on the Gold Coast when he joined in the 2020 pre-season as a train-and-trial prospect, Jolliffe put his head down and worked hard to get back... returning against the Tigers at the start of June and is now pushing to be back in the rich vein of condition that earned saw him as one of the club's best forwards at the start of 2023.
"I just want to get back to that pre-season form I was in and just keep improving week to week," he said.
"Coming off a pretty big upper body injury and just being away from the game for a while sort of just takes a little bit... like I do feel a bit rusty out there and my movements are a bit off in attack and defence.
"I just need to keep improving and doing my job for the team."
Match: Raiders v Titans
Round 18 -
home Team
Raiders
5th Position
away Team
Titans
11th Position
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
Not only up and about at Titans HQ because he's back to full fitness after missing 11 games, the Wagga Wagga junior has also cemented his future until the end of 2026 with a contract extension here on the Coast... a feat he is incredibly excited about given the immense potential the young roster has to bring premiership success to the region.
"The club gave me an opportunity back at the end of 2019 and just to continue to be here is exciting," Jolliffe said.
"We've got a great young group who are still learning and growing and for the Titans to have the faith in me to stay on board, I'm really excited."
Preparing for a challenging clash against the Raiders in Canberra after a gutsy and spirited win over the Broncos given the tough week the Titans experienced, Jolliffe feels the success came from the playing group putting their head down and focussing on the task at hand - a mentality that will again be taken into this weekend's contest.
"When something like that happens, you've just got to get more involved in your football and that's what we've done as a playing group. We can stand by one another by just hooking in with our footy," he said.
"It was definitely a good win on the weekend against the Broncos. It was a tough game and it could have gone either way, but it was good to see the resilience in our playing group to just get on with it."
