James made his NRL debut in round 14 of the 2010 season for the Gold Coast Titans at Skilled Park. The Gold Coast won 28-14 over the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, with James starring on debut against Manly's more experienced forward pack. He played four matches in the 2010 NRL season, coming off the bench each time. He was named in the 2010 National Youth Competition team of the year in the. James played in the 2011 All Stars match, coming off the bench for the Indigenous All Stars. James made 14 appearances for the club during the 2011 NRL season which saw the Gold Coast finish last and claim their first wooden spoon. In round 1 of the 2016 NRL Finals Series, James in the 74th minute of play had scored his 13th try of the season breaking the 76 year old record of most tries scored by a front rower in a single season. During the 2017 NRL season, the club endured a torrid time on and off the field with then coach Neil Henry and star recruit Jarryd Hayne reportedly involved in a long standing feud. Following the club's round 24 loss to Parramatta where it was rumoured that the playing group was split and Henry was about to be terminated, James angrily told the media in defence of the team and his coach "You can say allegedly from an unnamed source and you can say anything, it's BS". The following week, Henry was terminated as Gold Coast head coach. After being named co-captain alongside new teammate Kevin Proctor, James signed a three-year extension with the Titans to keep him on the Gold Coast until the end of 2020. In the 2018 NRL season, James made 23 appearances as the Gold Coast finished in 14th position on the table. James made a total of 6 appearances for the Gold Coast in the 2019 NRL season as the club endured a horror year on and off the field. During the halfway mark of the season, head coach Garth Brennan was sacked by the club after a string of poor results. The Gold Coast managed to win only 4 games for the entire season and finished last claiming the Wooden Spoon. On 6 October 2019, James was invited to do the Welcome to Country speech before the start of the 2019 NRL Grand Final. As James started the speech he said the words “As a game we stand together, side-by-side … I’m lost". James then stood awkwardly in the centre of ANZ Stadium before the Australian National Anthem was played. As a result of this gaffe, one of the Titans' major sponsors, TFH, announced that they would be terminating their sponsorship of the club, labelling it "embarrassing" and "offensive". The following week, TFH announced that they would continue to sponsor the Gold Coast after reversing their decision to end their sponsorship and apologised publicly to James. On December 11, 2019, James supported the idea of the Australian National Anthem being snubbed for the 2020 Indigenous All Stars game saying it didn't represent Aboriginal Australians. On 31 January 2020, James suffered an anterior cruciate ligament knee injury during pre-season training for the 2020 NRL season and was ruled out of action indefinitely. Gold Coast head of performance and culture Mal Meninga said in a statement "Everyone at the Titans shared Ryan's pain today, He is obviously a hugely popular part of this club, and earned even more respect with the positive way he applied himself to his recovery from the original injury last year, without ever once getting down or feeling sorry for himself". James will join the Canberra Raiders for two years starting in 2021, subject to passing a physical with his new clubs medical staff .
