Part of the next generation of North Queensland Cowboys players coming through the system, Jamal Shibasaki has reflected on his NRL first-grade debut earlier this season against the Sydney Roosters in Round 13.
The second member of his family to appear in the NRL, Jamal joined the Cowboys NRL squad ahead of this season and would go on to make his debut in Round 13 - his older brother is Gehamat Shibasaki, who has made 30 appearances for the Broncos, Knights, Cowboys and more recently the Rabbitohs this season.
Entering the match from the interchange bench due to other teammates in the team being out due to injury or State of Origin responsibilities, Shibasaki has a 100 per cent winning record and made ten tackles and 47 running metres.
While he only featured in 19 minutes, the U19s QLD representative has shown he has the makings of a future fully-fledged first-graded and splits his time between the second-row and front-row in the QLD Cup for the Mackay Cutters.
Beginning his career in the Brisbane Broncos system, he would make the move to the North Queensland Cowboys to follow in his brother's footsteps and hasn't looked back.
As he looks to earn more game time next season and beyond, the 19-year-old spoke to Zero Tackle about his journey toward his maiden match, the influence of his family and two brothers and playing alongside people he idolised, such as Jason Taumalolo.
"It meant a lot (to make my debut)," he told Zero Tackle.
"Growing up, Mum and Dad made a lot of sacrifices to get me where I am, and both of my brothers Gehmat and Eddie put a lot of hard work into getting me where I am.
"I wasn't only representing the Cowboys, but I was also representing my family. Mum, Dad, Gehmat, Eddie, I was representing all of them and all my family members, so it meant a lot to me.
"Ghem definitely played a big role in having the experience, but when he left for Brisbane straight out of school, Eddie was there to teach me a lot of things."
Still only 19, Shibaskai named Jason Taumalolo as one of his idols growing up and couldn't believe that they had the opportunity to play side by side against fellow idols Joseph Manu and Luke Keary.
However, his main hero was former Australian Kangaroos and QLD Maroons representative Greg Inglis.
"100 per cent (it was surreal playing against players I grew up watching). The main one was playing alongside, no offence but the old fellas like Jason Taumalolo, Jordan McLean, Jake Granville, I've watched all of them growing up," the young Cowboy continued.
"This is my first NRL pre-season, so Jason definitely played a big role in the pre-season and season, giving me advice, same as Jordan McLean. He gave me a lot of advice and it's been unreal."
Like every pair of brothers, Jamal hopes to play alongside his older brother Gehamat on the field one day. However, they have already shared the field on a previous occasion, but on opposite sides.
"We played against each other in the QLD Cup when he played for the Hawks [Townsville Blackhawks] and I was playing for the Cutters [Mackay Cutters]," he added.
