David Fifita wants to regain a Queensland Origin jersey and lead Gold Coast back to NRL finals footy by developing his combination with returning Titans No.6 Kieran Foran.
Second-rower Fifita lines up against his former club Brisbane on Saturday night after following his strong start to the season by securing his future with a two-year contract extension until the end of 2025.
The 23-year-old Fifita, who had been linked to a possible return to Brisbane, said he was relieved to have got his deal out of the way.
"The longer I waited the more noise was going to be there and it was only going to be louder," Fifita told AAP.
"It was good to get it off my chest and now I can just worry about getting the results we want as a group here at the Titans. I am happy to be here for another two years.
"(Finals) is where we want to get to. We all know what we can do as a group and we spoke about it behind the scenes before pre-season."
The Titans played finals in 2021 but were way off the pace last year. Fifita last played State of Origin in 2021 and he aims to add to his five appearances for Queensland using advice Maroons coach Billy Slater gave him in pre-season.
"That is the goal," Fifita said.
"We had a chat before the season in round one, myself and a few other boys in the team, about what it takes to put on that jersey and what you have to do.
"We had lunch (with Slater) and caught up with him. I know what I need to do."
Fifita has been moved to the left side of the field for Gold Coast this year to maximise his attacking weaponry outside Foran, who returns to the side after missing last week's 20-18 win over St George Illawarra with a calf strain.
"Kieran has done heaps for my game. It's great running off him," Fifita said.
"I moved onto the left side at the last minute just before round one without doing anything there in the pre-season there, but I prefer it on the left side.
"That is where I first played at the Broncos when I came into the NRL.
"Hopefully Foz (Foran) and I can keep our combination going."
Fifita is averaging 161m per game in 2023, a better return than at any stage of his career and far superior to the 112m he averaged last year.
Foran said he was "really enjoying having a guy like Dave running outside me".
"He is such an enormous talent. I think he has got so much growth to go in his game but his first month of footy has been outstanding," Foran told AAP
"He has shown us and everyone else the sort of footballer he is. I just want him to continue to bring that each and every week."
