A lot of players would be daunted if they were dubbed "Junior SBW" by their teammates but Broncos veteran Alex Glenn says Jaydn Su'A is revelling in the intimidating role.
Su'A recently told NRL.com Williams was one of his childhood idols and he had modelled his game on the former Bulldogs star.
Glenn revealed how the Broncos have given Su'A a nickname that reflects his "Sonny Bill ways" and said the 20-year-old New Zealand-born second-rower was keeping more than just his opponents on their toes in the lead-up to Thursday night's clash with SBW's old team Canterbury at Suncorp Stadium.
"Jaydn's footwork is crazy at the line and he can whack, and that is something that I am pretty jealous of because I haven't got that in my game," Glenn said.
"We call him the 'Junior SBW'. He is one of those exciting players that means every pre-season I have to be on top of my game because he is breathing down my back.
"He wants more game time and wants to be playing on that edge. I have to make sure I am pinpoint because players like him that are coming in with much better footwork than me and they can hit … it is exciting for the game and also the club."
The Broncos are not short on young forwards with impact. It was Glenn who tagged 18-year-old behemoth Payne Haas as "no pain" in the pre-season after the young forward powered through gruelling training drills without showing any signs of discomfort.
The Kiwi international predicted big things from Haas at the time and he delivered on that in a 20-minute cameo off the bench in his NRL debut against South Sydney last week.
"He's a unit … a freak," Glenn said.
"He is the one that was leading all our fitness drills and for a person in a 120 kilos frame to have an engine like that is just crazy.
"It was a great reward for him to get his debut and I thought he had a great game. It is exciting for his future. I know it is not going to go to his head. He's humble and hopefully he gets many more opportunities."
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Glenn said it was vital the Broncos kept Haas, Tevita Pangai jnr, Su'A, Matt Lodge and a suite of other young forwards at the club long term.
"They are working with us and know what our culture is so you don't want to bring too many outside people into this team which changes up the whole culture," Glenn said.
"We are living a culture that Brad Thorn, [Shane] Webcke, Tonie Carroll and Darren Lockyer left for us.
"Myself, Sammy [Thaiday] and Wayne [Bennett] are trying to pass that on to this younger generations to carry on that legacy."
Glenn knows his time runs out to win a premiership at Brisbane as he watches a new breed of Bronco rise through the ranks.
"It is still something that I am trying to get used to as a senior bloke now," he said.
"Sammy is the only one that was here when I debuted so it is a different role. It is exciting to be honest.
"You look at those trophies in the lobby and we want to make sure we continue that. We've had a dry spell and we are hungry and we want to hold that trophy.
"We are hitting some form now and want to make sure we keep the momentum going."