Titans interim co-coach Terry Matterson has put his hand up to assume the role on a full-time basis next season following Gold Coast's spirited 20-16 loss to the Roosters that capped a tough year on and off the field.
Matterson and Craig Hodges have been at the helm for the past two weeks after Neil Henry was sacked following a reported falling out with fullback Jarryd Hayne amongst other things.
The former Castleford coach has been with the Titans for the past three seasons and is one of the leading candidates for the Gold Coast job in 2018.
"I'd love to be head coach," he said following his side's narrow loss.
"That'll be sorted out in the future so we just wanted to move through this and go from there. The club will deal with that and the process that that they'll go through. That'll probably start this week, I'd say."
Fill-in skipper Kevin Proctor said he'd "100 per cent" back Matterson for the role.
"He's a good coach and I've learnt a lot from him this year. The group of players look up to him as well so it's a spanner in the works," Proctor said.
Before he could elaborate, Matterson interjected, saying it was unfair to put Proctor on the spot after such an emotional loss.
"That's a tough question. Putting someone on the spot like that, I don't think that's a real fair question. It's been a tough year for him at the Titans and I think he's going to learn from this year with his captaincy," Matterson said.
Regardless of who coaches them next season, Matterson believes there is a solid base to work with after they held a 10-point lead over the second-placed Roosters, only to be run down in the final few minutes.
It was a pleasant surprise given the turmoil that has engulfed the club in recent weeks and one that few saw coming given they were without stars Ryan James, Nathan Peats and Tyrone Roberts.
Injuries have dictated their season with the Titans forced to blood 17 debutants, but Matterson believes the tough times will toughen them up in the years to come.
"If we won that, my feelings wouldn't have changed," he said.
"We're in a results driven business and we're pretty desperate for a win, but what they went through out there probably mirrors our season.
"I think we can build from that going forward. The way they handled themselves today against a pretty good side, defensively they rolled their sleeves up and put their bodies on the line and they learnt to stay in a tough game. They'll take a lot from that.
"I remember games earlier in the season where we lost three or four players and we only had 13 left and it's just been one of those years where injuries have made it really difficult for us. They stood up today and we've got a lot of young guys who will benefit from it in the future."
