Speak to Will Zillman and you can't help but get the sense the two major knee injuries which threatened to derail his NRL career still affect him.
The Gold Coast back will make his 150th NRL appearance on Saturday against Cronulla, a milestone that should have already been attained if it wasn't for the almost two full seasons he spent on the sidelines.
It's been a tough journey at times for Zillman, who began life as a promising teenage half who made the move to Canberra from Brisbane to pursue his NRL dream.
He debuted in 2006 in a 70-32 thrashing by an Andrew Johns-led Newcastle and was beginning to cement himself as the Raiders' starting fullback when he required a double knee reconstruction.
The 28-year-old admits he struggled during that long spell on the sidelines.
"I'd only played 22 games when I had my first reconstruction and 24 when I had my second," he said.
"It wasn't the best start to a career. I guess I was fortunate in the fact the Titans showed a lot of faith in me and then for the years following that I was fairly lucky injury-wise.
"It was a tough 12 to 18 months for me but I certainly learnt a lot from it."
The Titans head to Remondis Stadium desperate for a win to kickstart their 2015 campaign.
For the first time since picking up the wooden spoon in 2011, the Titans are 0-3 after their first three matches of the season.
The Titans recent history with big occasion matches isn't good, with one game last year against St George Illawarra featuring three separate milestones to Gold Coast players ending in a 34-6 hiding by the Dragons.
Zillman said he can only hope the team bucks that trend against a Sharks team which will be just as desperate given they too are 0-3.
"It'd be great (to win). Milestones haven't been that kind to us in recent times to be honest," he said.
"Hopefully I can change that around.
"We're none from three at the moment so really looking for the two points this week."
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