He's been tipped by some as the man most likely to assume the captaincy should Blues skipper Boyd Cordner fail to recover from a calf injury in time for the State of Origin decider, but Josh Jackson remains confident his brother in the back row will be good to go come July 12.
Jackson was named man of the match in the Game Two loss in Sydney and is widely respected by his peers and the general rugby league community, and while he doesn't lead the Bulldogs at NRL level, there is no doubt the back-rower has what it takes to get the job done with the 'C' next to his name.
It's a topic that Jackson hasn't been able to shake at the team's base in Kingscliff, with the workhorse Blue also keen to endorse several of his teammates for the role should Cordner be ruled out.
"It's a bit hard not to [think about it] when all you guys ask me the question all the time," Jackson replied when asked about the captaincy hype.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again, there are a lot of guys here that could do the job.
"There are a lot experienced guys… you've got guys like James Maloney and Aaron Woods, who's the captain of his club, Wade Graham if he comes into the side for Boyd – he's done it for the Sharks before – so there's a lot of guys that could do it.
"For me, I just try to lead by my actions and do the stuff on the field and let my actions do the talking."
According to Jackson, the captaincy debate is a moot point given he expects Cordner and injured lock Tyson Frizell to play in the July 12 decider.
"All the boys that are sort of in doubt or are carrying little injuries, their body language and the way they're going about it sort of suggests to me that they'll be fine to go," he said.
"Tyson Frizell trained yesterday and he pulled up really good, and Boyd Cordner is getting around this morning so I imagine those boys will be good to play."
Selecting injured players in a squad of 17 can be a risky gamble, but should someone go down at Suncorp Stadium, Jackson has faith in the guys on the bench to pick up the slack.
"I think with the squad that we've got, we've got the depth to cover those guys if that were to happen," he said.
"You've got Jack Bird on the bench who can play pretty much every position on the field, you've got Wade Graham on the bench who's the same – he's really versatile – so if that were to happen, we'd be covered for it. But like I said, everything suggests that those guys will be right to go."
