Milton Ulladulla junior emerges as Steelers SG Ball ironman

That's what Illawarra South Coast Dragons coach Peter Hooper asked Jarrah Treweek after he'd laid on two tres and scored another in the space of 13 minutes in round one of the Laurie Daley Cup last year.

The first-half spurt came in a 52-6 win over Riverina, Treweek's first outing as a representative player.

It was also his first as a back-rower, the Milton-Ulladualla product having played all his previous footy as a five-eighth.

He headed into that game unsure whether he belonged in that arena, or that No.12 jersey.

By the end of the year he'd claimed a hat-trick and man-of-the-match honours in the Dragons grand final victory, capping it off with being named the competition's Most Valuable Player.

So yeah, the 6'4 wrecking ball with the skills of half belonged there.

"The big thing [I noticed] was his size and his skill set from the get-go," Hooper said.

"Come round one he was still a little bit green because he hadn't played rep footy, but then he had some really classy touches.

"He scored a try, made a break and set up another try and I just said to him at halftime 'do you believe that you belong at this level now?

"He was one of those kids that you could see in his eyes he was doubting himself, but in the second half he went out and set up a try with his first touch.

"From there he just got better and better. I think he realised that he was more of a run threat than a pass threat because of the size of him and, for us, he was a dream player.

"He can kick a footy, he's got a really good pass on him. He's just an amazing athlete really. He's got all the skills under the sun, but his commitment was second to none.

"Talent gets you so far, but his work ethic will get him further than what the talent will."

It feels like home these days, but Treweek admits a shift into the pack was a tough sell, despite him possessing all the physical attributes - and a bit more on top.

"That was the first rep team I made," Treweek said.

"I kind of felt a little bit out of place to start with. To be honest, I wasn't even expecting to be picked in that squad.

"I played a couple of games, set up a couple of tries and scored a couple and, yeah, Hoops asked me 'do you think you belong here now?'

"Coming into that side, I was pretty nervous but 'Hoops' instilled confidence into me pretty early and just let me play the way I like to play.

"I've always been pretty big, but I played in the halves for the (Milton-Ulladulla) Bulldogs. Hoops was the first coach who put me in the back row.

"I was a little bit skeptical to start with, but he let me play as a ball-playing back-rower and I enjoyed that. I could use my size a little bit more and take the line on.

"I think it's mindset thing. I wasn't really a fan of it, but now I've learned I can play it the way I play and it's become my favourite position on the field."

Good thing too, given he's been a fixture on the left edge since graduating into the Steelers SG Ball squad this year on the back of his stellar 2023.

Come Saturday's semi-final showdown with the Knights, Treweek's the only member of Shaun Timmins' injury-ravaged forward pack to have started all nine matches this season.

The ironman effort's been much-needed amid the horror injury toll, but Treweek insists it hasn't put any dent in his side's belief that it can claim the silverware.

"Timmo's always said we need the next-man-up mentality and we've really adopted that and it's taken us to where we are now," he said.

"We always knew that we'd have to use probably every player in the squad and everyone's chipped in to get to the spot we're in.

"It's been a step up [for me]. It's a lot faster and the contact's a lot bigger, which is good, I've enjoyed it. I just hope that I can do my part every week and put it towards a win.

"I'm confident in every player in our team and that we can really have a crack at it.

"We're getting some troops back that will really benefit us and I definitely think we can go all the way."