New Titans recruit Oliver Pascoe is relishing his chance to be a full-time footy player with the reigning Petero Civoniceva Medallist inching closer to fulfilling his childhood dream.
Dominating for Ipswich in the 2025 Hostplus Cup season to earn player of the year honours, the 26-year-old was due to report to Parkwood for a short three-month stint as part of the club's affiliation with the Jets.
But that has quickly changed with an offer to be part of Gold Coast's development roster for the next two seasons following his sublime form - the opportunity Pascoe has wanted ever since stepping onto the rugby league field.
"I think from age six when you start playing footy, this is what you dream about," he told titans.com.au.
"I'm here now, but the work's only just getting started, so I'm super excited for what's ahead."
Somewhat of a journeyman with 66 games of Cup since his debut in 2021, the crafty dummy-half feels his time toiling away in reserve grade experiencing very similar fundamentals will help him adapt to being part of a professional rugby league system.
"It's kind of similar [at the Cup level], but it's just the fact you get to be full-time and among professional players and professional systems and stuff like that," Pascoe said.
"You get help when you need it by everyone across a lot of different aspects and it allows you to further develop your game, which is excellent.
"But [I want to give credit to] the coaching and the boys out at Ipswich.
"They're such a good and tight-knit group, which starts with the coaches in Tye and Trigger, but also everyone at the club.
"They've really helped me develop as a player and a person."
Aiming to work hard and take advantage of his opportunity to earn a NRL debut during his time at the Titans, Pascoe is also looking forward to not having to juggle footy with his trade, which is a staple of being a Cup stalwart.
"Getting to be here full-time also means I can get off my hands and knees and stop my tiling job to focus on my footy, so I'm stoked for that," he joked.
