St George Illawarra forward Jaydn Su'A has revealed the inspiration behind his powerful start to the NRL season.
The 26-year-old has been at the top of his game amid a resurgent Dragons side that has already won the same number of games as they did in the entire 2023 season.
While his club form has been impressive, Su'A revealed his representative ambitions have played a key role in fuelling his performances as he chases a Queensland State of Origin recall.
"It's been my biggest motivator," Su'A told NRL.com. "I got injured last year and after going through that, I made a few promises to myself.
"It was my biggest motivator, I'll do whatever I can to put my name in the frame and then we'll see what happens."
Su'A made his Queensland debut in 2020 in a side infamously labelled the worst in Origin history, playing all three matches as the Maroons stunned their more fancied NSW rivals.
His last game, however, was a 50-6 drubbing in Game One of the 2021 series and he has not represented his state since.
Su’A hopes to live up to Carroll comparison
That looks likely to change this year as the likes of Queensland legends Wally Lewis and Darren Lockyer call for Su'A's recall amid a heavy Maroons injury toll.
Tino Fa'asuamaleaui and Tom Flegler will miss the series with long term injuries and Billy Slater is looking for hard-working forwards to feature in his pack.
Su'A has enjoyed a clean bill of health in 2024 after being restricted to just 13 NRL games last year and has one more chance to impress Maroons selectors when the Dragons face the Bulldogs on Thursday night.
This article contains content that is only available on NRL.com
"My focus is on playing well each week," he said. "Good form and winning games puts you in the mix for those teams.
"I want to get back to that arena, I'm not denying that. It's in a couple of weeks so let's see how I go."
Su'A will enter Thursday's game full of confidence after inking a two-year contract extension with the Dragons during the side's bye last week.
St George Illawarra have five wins from 10 matches and currently sit 9th on the ladder.
It hasn't all been smooth sailing for Su'A this year, with the forward enduring a tough night in the round two loss to the Dolphins.
It was, however, the trigger for a quick turnaround, with Su'A using the emotions of that evening as motivation throughout the season.
"I had a shocker in round two," he said. "I told myself I don't want to feel like that again.
"I didn't want to feel like that again so I trained hard and really focused on what I need to focus on. We have good coaches here, some of the meetings we have are pretty confronting but it's what we need."