Jack de Belin was always optimistic on his way to 200 NRL games

The boy from Cootamundra will hit the milestone on Friday when the Dragons host the Warriors in Wollongong.

Playing Origin as well as the Dragons' finals run in 2018 were mentioned by de Belin as two of his career highlights.

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But following an extended period out of the game due to sexual assault allegations, it would have been hard to imagine him clocking up the milestone.

The forward said that despite this, he was always optimistic he could reach an achievement like this.

"I'm not going to lie I've always been optimistic. I always knew I was going to crack it (the milestone)," he said.

"It was just a matter of time I suppose. I probably didn't hit it as quick as I would have liked but not for one second did I ever doubt or think that I wouldn't make it.

"I'm pretty proud [to reach the milestone]. A lot of hard work and dedication has gone into it. It's not something that has just magically happened, a lot of hard years of work have been put into this but at the same time I'm pretty proud."

In the midst of his milestone however is the uncertainty of teammate and club captain, Ben Hunt.

De Belin was recently named captain in Hunt's absence for the Dragons clash against the Dolphins during Origin game one.

While he said that it was a role he would always be happy taking on, de Belin said Hunt was still the team's captain.

He admitted that the news of Hunt's wish to leave the club was a surprise.

"It was a bit of a shock to everyone," he said.

"But at the same time he's in Origin [camp] at the moment, so first and foremost that's his priority and after that it's deciding on his future.

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"First and foremost he's a mate so I want him to be happy and do what's best for him and his family. It is a tough one at the same time," de Belin added.

"I haven't even thought about [the captaincy] to be honest. That's for the coaches and the club to decide who that is. If they did give me that role I would be more than happy to do it but as of right now Benny Hunt is out captain and hopefully he will be for the foreseeable future."

The Dragons will take on the Warriors - who features former Dragon Jackson Ford - in front of fans at Wollongong.

Team news is set to be released on Tuesday at 4pm.

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