Former Australian fullback Gary Belcher has paid young Raiders custodian Josh Dugan the ultimate compliment by comparing him to Parramatta superstar Jarryd Hayne.
And the 19-year-old's statistics in his debut season show Belcher has a point.
Hayne is the most-hyped player in the NRL, with his freakish form drawing comparisons with basketball superstar Michael Jordan.
Eels second-rower Nathan Hindmarsh predicted this week Hayne could become the greatest player rugby league has seen, so for Belcher to draw comparisons between him and Dugan shows he has a big opinion of the youngster.
After just 15 NRL games Dugan has run an incredible 2839m at an average of 189m per game, broken 97 tackles at an average of 6.46 per game and churned out 1280m on kick returns at an average of 85m per game.
In comparison Hayne, the NRL's leading ball runner, averages just 174m per game with ball in hand, while his total kick return metres are level with Dugan's but from six more games.
For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times
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