It's been a week to remember for Schiller. He scored his first tries in the NRL against the Storm, which included a jaw-dropping match-winner, and he secured a two-year deal to remain in Canberra.

The 21-year-old won't be able to back up that performance against Melbourne this weekend playing the Warriors, with an ankle injury to keep him sidelined for at least a week.

But his remarkable solo effort to score what proved to be the deciding points against the Storm brought about memories of the try-scoring talent of his famous uncle, premiership-winning Raider, Brett Mullins.

Schiller, who made his NRL debut in the season-opener, is determined to end those comparisons though.

"I'm very appreciative and honoured to be compared to someone as great as my uncle, but at the same time, with all due respect to him, I also don't want to be in his shadow," Schiller said after his re-signing was announced this week alongside teammates Zac Woolford, Ata Mariota and Matt Frawley.

"I want to create my own path and be known as James Schiller rather than Brett Mullins' nephew.

"Not that it's a bad title at all, but when I'm in the position I'm in to take this opportunity, I really want to become my own person and set my own standard, rather than have everyone think I'm just another family member playing footy."

Mullins has been in Schiller's shoes. His father Bill Mullins is an Eastern Suburbs great, having played 190 games during the 1960s and 1970s, and both his uncles Russell and Terry also played first-grade with Western Suburbs.

While Mullins will gush with pride about his nephew's success for the Green Machine since he arrived in Canberra from a COVID-interrupted stint in NSW Cup with the Dragons, the former Raiders star understands those feelings about the weight of the family name.

"He wants to forge his own legacy, which is what he should be doing," Mullins told The Canberra Times.

"He's always going to get referenced back to me and my father, that's just part of life. I copped that through my career as well, but you take it on board and then make good with what you want to do.

"Eventually as he plays more first-grade they won't be referencing James to me anymore. It's a novelty at the moment because he's only just made first-grade, but as he plays more games, my name will go into the background."

Mullins said Schiller is a "great asset" for the Raiders going forward and believes fans can expect more of the flair he displayed in Melbourne over the next two seasons.

"All the family, his mum and dad, we have always known the skill he's had, and that was just a twinkle of what he can do," Mullins said.

"He can read a game and he knows what's coming. He's got a real footy brain on him and that will take him a long way.

"Ricky [Stuart] is not there to make friends, he's there to win football games. James is a great kid and he's got a lot of talent and Ricky can see that."

The battle Schiller will have when his ankle injury improves will be cracking into the Raiders side again which boasts some talented backs depth. The Young product welcomes that challenge.

"There'd be no point if it was easy to get picked," he said. "To have people ahead of you, it makes you work harder, and it actually brings out your best footy. I wouldn't have been able to perform the way I did on the weekend if I didn't have the the chip on my shoulder that I could get dropped."

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"That's the best thing for him," Mullins added.

"When I was coming through I had competition to hold my spot at fullback with the likes of Ken Nagas and Michael Maguire.

"The more competition you've got, the better a player it makes you, so he's got to work harder and not let those guys in the door."

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