By Brent Read

JAMAL Idris and Jarryd Hayne were teammates long before they became opponents.

"I went to school with him," Idris said yesterday, his knee in a brace at a Bulldogs recovery session at North Cronulla beach.

"Haynesy used to do athletics with me. He was one of my room-mates. We used to have little towel fights with the other rooms.

"He was a good hurdler, a real good hurdler. It's pretty tricky seeing him doing some of the stuff he does. It's good watching him.

"I think it inspires everyone in football. If you look at him and say he's not a good player, you're probably just a hater.

"He's just a natural freak."

If Hayne is the hottest player in the NRL now, Idris isn't far behind. The pair could lock horns in two weeks if Hayne's Eels can find their way past Gold Coast at the Sydney Football Stadium on Friday night.

Like everyone else in the game, Idris has watched Hayne in recent weeks with a sense of awe. Idris, however, isn't surprised by Hayne's supernatural performances. He watched the Parramatta custodian on the athletics track long before he saw him on the football field.

While Idris was a world-ranked junior in shot-put and discus, Hayne's athletics played second fiddle to his league aspirations.

Even so, he made his mark. Dan Sutchy, athletics director at Westfield Sports High in the western Sydney suburb of Fairfield, can still recall Hayne winning the hurdles at the 2003 junior national titles.

Hayne wasn't in the school's athletics program, but he entered the nationals at the urging of a friend.

"They were doing it for fun and one of his mates said, 'Did you know you just did the national standard for the hurdles'," Sutchy said.

"He turned up at the nationals ... no training, didn't have a coach. And he won. We're talking about a technical event which requires training.

"I remember watching him, thinking, 'Who's that guy way behind'. But every hurdle he got closer and closer. It was almost as if he was learning as he was running. And he won the national title. That's the sort of freak he is."

While Hayne and his teammates need to beat the Titans to qualify for the preliminary final, the Bulldogs are already there. Idris can't wait. At the age of 19, he has been a standout for the Bulldogs this season.

He was among their best again in last weekend's 26-12 win over Newcastle, although he finished the game with a medial ligament strain. While his teammates played cricket on the beach yesterday, Idris sat on a brick wall giving his leg some much-needed rest.

"My leg was extended out and someone fell on it," Idris said.

"I heard a click and I thought I might be in trouble here. I got up and it was a bit sore. I kept on running. At half-time it seized up."

He expects to be fit to play the preliminary final and has no concerns with playing in a grand final qualifier. Pressure isn't in Idris's vocabulary. With his dreadlocks and towering frame, he looks like a West Indian cricketer. And he has the Caribbean demeanour as well.

"It's pretty unreal," Idris said.

"That would be a mad crowd. I just want to play. I don't really mind who we play as long as I play."

As for the attention that comes with being one of the best teenagers in the game, he said: "There is a lot of pressure on you.

"It got to the point where I just don't worry about it. People are going to say what they're going to say. No matter what you do, they're always going to say whatever they're going to say.

"The best thing you can do is worry about yourself and have fun. Don't take everything too serious.

"You have to make it fun. Footy is a game . If you're not having fun playing it, you might as well do something else."

No fear there. Idris is having the time of his life.