Jaimin Jolliffe is under no illusions about the mammoth task ahead of the Titans this weekend, but there's no giving up in the belief they can upset the three-time defending premiers.
Determined to silence all the external noise suggesting Gold Coast can't take down the Panthers in Penrith, the 27-year-old is confident there is every possibility after big scalps against finals-bound teams such as the Sharks, Dolphins and Cowboys in 2024.
"We don't care what anyone says," Jolliffe said.
"We believe that when we're on and playing good football, we're competitive against any side and I think we've proved that this year.
"Obviously the last few weeks haven't been good but never write us off... that's for sure."
Match: Panthers v Titans
Round 27 -
home Team
Panthers
2nd Position
away Team
Titans
14th Position
Venue: BlueBet Stadium, Penrith
Reflecting on the past month of disappointing results after being touted as one of the form teams surging towards the top eight, the consistent front row enforcer was honest with his assessment of the season, sharing his frustration of falling away from their charge towards a finals berth under new coach Des Hasler.
"The last few weeks definitely haven't been good enough and we're definitely not happy about it," Jolliffe said.
"It's disappointing we've had another year where we're not playing finals. There was probably a point there we were really hopeful and were the form team.
"I don't know if it was the pressure, but we just fell away.
"There's a lot of reflecting to do in the off-season ahead of a big pre-season to try and turn that around.
"There was a period there where we were playing really good football. Even at the start of the year, we were in a lot of the contests and just losing a few... but to just fall away in the back end is just frustrating.
"I thought we were really building some strong character in this team, but we've just slipped up."
Despite the lacklustre results in the past four weeks, Jolliffe believes spoiling Penrith's party with a big scalp this weekend can help make a statement for next season's preparations.
"There's one game to go and one game to turn it around and fix a few of those things," he said.
"This weekend is probably the toughest opponent of the year so if we can get up for that, it'll be good.
"We just want to finish the year off with a good win and give our fans something to be hopeful for."
