Jolliffe is finding his feet in first grade and loving it

All he wanted was the chance to prove he was NRL standard and Jaimin Jolliffe is starting to feel he's earning his stripes.

At 23 years old he made his NRL debut for the Titans this year after spending the past three seasons with the Newtown Jets in Canterbury Cup.

"I'm really enjoying it. It's definitely a step up from what I'm used to but I feel like I'm learning heaps each week and starting to find my place in the team," he told NRL.com

His timing is impeccable. If the young prop hadn't been lured north by the Burleigh Bears - the Titans feeder team - he wouldn't be playing football at all with the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the reserve grade competitions in both states.

The NSW Country Under-18s representative was originally picked up by Cronulla from his junior club, the Wagga Kangaroos.

The past three years with the Jets brought a premiership in 2019 but that didn't translate in helping Jolliffe take his game forward.

"When I finished off the season, there was really no option there for me at Cronulla so I had the opportunity to come up here on a training trial," Jolliffe said from the Titans training headquarters at Parkwood, near Southport on the Gold Coast.

"I was stoked to get the chance to play and try to take my career forward.

"All I wanted was the opportunity to prove myself. I can't thank the Bears, the Titans and Justin (Holbrook) for helping me and rewarding me for all the hard work."

Seems like Jolliffe is doing a good job of repaying that faith. He's started five times in his nine games for 2020, averaging nearly 100 metres for his 40-45 minutes each match.

He doesn't mind that he made his first grade debut in the new six-again era, where the pace of a NRL game substantially rose.

"It's definitely a faster style of football but I don't mind the hard runs, the hard work," he said.

"It's more challenging in the middle but that's the thing that makes it more enjoyable for me. If I can go out and do a real job in the middle I find that very rewarding."

The message from Holbrook has been direct.

"He just wants us middles working with each other to bring that consistency. He wants us to be genuine in everything we do on and off the ball," Jolliffe said.

"It sounds like a simple job carrying the ball forward but he wants us to constantly strive to be better at that. He's been happy with what I've been doing but he wants that consistency in me to start games and set that platform.

"Justin is very approachable. You can have the conversation with him and he will be honest with you.

"I really appreciate that being a bit older and playing a few years in reserve grade, I wanted to have those tough conversations to work on myself.

"He's always got good advice to give. He's very involved with the players and I think that's the best part of him - he's always striving to be better."

So far Jolliffe has earned himself a two-year stay with the Titans taking up their option to keep him on for 2021.

"I'm loving it up here. I like the players and I like the staff. I can't think of being anywhere else.

"I want to be here when things start turning because I really think that's going to happen."

Everyone will notice that if the Titans put in a good showing against top-of-the-table Panthers at Cbus Stadium next Sunday.

"The pressure is not so much on us. We can go out there and really prove ourselves as a club on the rise - a really good opportunity to rip in," Jolliffe said.