For Dragons young gun Keeley Davis, it proved a true initiation to the elite level. This wasn't Tarsha Gale Cup anymore.

"I remember it very, very clearly," Davis said.

"It was against the Roosters and Ruan Sims looked me dead in the eyes and ran it straight at me off the kickoff.

"I just thought 'oh God here we go'. I've never said anything to her about it but a few people have mentioned it to me and said 'I feared for your life'.

"I didn't come off second-best which I was surprised by and I was happy enough with the tackle. It was a massive impact but after that I thought 'I've copped it off her, I'll be fine'."

In fact she was more than fine, the youngest player in the NRLW competition last season, she made her Jillaroos debut before the year was out.

Read more: Kiwi hit squad ready to ignite Dragons NRLW push

Still a teenager, she's heading into her second campaign with the Dragons and does so walking a tad taller than she did into her maiden one.

"Going into last year I was pretty nervous and nobody knew what to expect," she said.

"I hadn't really played too many [elite] women before that so it was definitely a confidence-building year for me.

"That was probably last year in a nutshell, just playing at that level and proving to myself that I could do it.

"This year I'm going in a lot more confident in my ability as well as knowing what to expect a bit more as a team."

Davis was used primarily in the No. 6 jumper last season by coach Daniel Lacey, who also brought the Corrimal Cougars alum through the Steelers Tarsha Gale system.

She also spent time at dummy-half and can comfortably fill any position in the spine, something that counted in her favour at the Jillaroos selection table.

It's what also has her shaping as a bench super-sub in a talent-stacked roster this season, with Lacey naming her in the No. 14 jumper for Sunday's clash with Brisbane.

She played the same role at Test level for Jillaroos coach Brad Donald last season and it's something she's embracing with the NRLW title favourites.

"It was something I needed to get my head around early on but I think coming on and just bringing some impact is really suited to my game," she said.

"I think that's the best thing for the team and for me as well so I'm excited to play that role. Tarsha Gale was nines for the first two years so we didn't have a really specific position, you just play what's in front of you.

"I think that's helped me a lot coming through."

It's something she hopes can help her reclaim the Jillaroos jumper after injuries hampered her push at a NSW debut earlier this year.

"I've really enjoyed playing at 14 at rep level," she said.

"A utility role is not very common at the moment so being able to do that so I think it definitely helps in that regard."