Canterbury debutant Jayden Okunbor knows the comparisons to Jamal Idris are inevitable but is determined to be his own man.
The towering 196cm winger will make his NRL debut for the Bulldogs against the Wests Tigers on Sunday as one of five changes made by Dean Pay designed to kick-start their season.
As a local junior who grew up just 15 minutes down the road in Panania in south western Sydney, the 22-year-old will live out a boyhood dream at Campbelltown Stadium.
After getting his first taste of rugby league playing for the Milperra Colts, he grew up idolising former Bulldogs centre Idris.
Both Okunbor and Idris are of Nigerian heritage, cut imposing figures and sport trademark dreadlocks.
“Jamal, I always got that comparison,” Okunbor said.
“Back when he was playing for the Bulldogs, he was one of the best. I loved watching him.”
But Okunbor reckons that’s where the similarities end.
“Not really,” he said, when asked if he plays like Idris.
“He’s probably a bit bigger than I am.”
Okunbor has called Belmore home for the past four years but he first played at the Dogs’ spiritual home when he was 13 – when he got a chance to run out there in a junior league grand final.
From a young age he was a gifted athlete, excelling at shot put and cricket, which he played at a state representative level until he was 15.
His debut will be a special occasion for his family, including his mother, who will present him with his jersey.
“Mum doesn’t want to do it, she just thinks she’ll cry the whole time,” Okunbor said.
“I’ve got to force her to do it and it will mean so much more if she does it rather than someone else.”
Okunbor has been through his fair share of hardship – in the last year of the under-20s he had to fight back from a shoulder reconstruction and was last year dropped by NSW Cup coach Steve Georgeallis.
“It made me feel like it wasn’t going the way I wanted it to,” Okonbur said.
“At that stage I was just cruising along, taking it as it comes.
“I think I needed that kick up the butt to keep me in line.”