Every NRL player aspires to play finals football but few have had to wait quite as long as Ryan James for a taste of September action.
The 25-year-old prop has played 85 matches for the Titans since debuting in 2010 but is yet to feature in a single minute of a finals game.
The Titans last finals appearance was in his debut year when Gold Coast came within one game of a grand final before being beaten in a preliminary final by the Sydney Roosters.
James says 2016 is looming as the club's - and his - best chance to end that finals drought.
"We've been pretty close, I think it was two or three years ago where the Storm beat us down there and we had to win that game," James said.
"We obviously don't want to be in that position. If we can work our way up so we're certain for finals spots, that'd be great."
The Titans moved back into the top eight with an emphatic 32-12 win over St George Illawarra at Kogarah last Friday night.
They now have a great opportunity to consolidate their position with three consecutive home matches, starting with the visit of Parramatta on Saturday.
James says that run of home fixtures is a big chance for the Titans to cement themselves in the top eight.
"We have to string some wins together and hopefully the Gold Coast crowd comes out, we definitely need their support," he said.
"We're in that spot at the moment where there's probably three or four teams in the same position on the ladder so if we can string a couple of wins together it'd be great."
