But the New Zealand international says his young teammate must first adjust to football life.

Dugan and Harrison were both honoured at the Rugby League Players Association awards in Sydney last week Harrison named New Zealand representative of the year and Dugan the NRL rookie of the season.

But despite impressing on the field, Dugan is yet to adapt to the demands of full-time football.

Already in his short career the 19-year-old has been disciplined several times for his lax approach to training.

Just last month he was banished to training with the under-20s after missing an important first-grade session.

Harrison said the promising rookie, who has represented the Prime Minister's XIII after just one season, was still learning how to handle pressure.

''[Dugan] is awesome, he probably doesn't get the same recognition as Daniel Mortimer and Jamal Idris but he's rock solid for us,'' he said.

''I couldn't put a limit on how good he could be, he's got that courage there and he's not afraid to put his body on the line.

''He's getting bigger, probably the hardest thing is the football life he has to adjust to ... Other teams are going to mark him up more now and when opposition teams do that you can get a little bit frustrated. If he can do that, of course he can [be as good as Hayne and Slater].''

Harrison won his award after a stellar representative season despite being injured in New Zealand's Four Nations campaign last month.

The 24-year-old tore his calf muscle in New Zealand's Four Nations match against Australia. He reinjured the muscle two weeks ago and has since been told to refrain from heavy training until the new year.

Harrison has not trained with the Raiders first-grade squad since the end of last season. Canberra coach David Furner gave the Kiwi an extended break and he will return to training on January 8. In his first season with the Raiders, Harrison played every game and was one of the stand-out performers this year.