But Jacob Saifiti says he is not racing the clock to emulate his twin and what he accomplished last season.

"I'm not putting that sort of pressure on myself," he told the Newcastle Herald.

"Daniel's already established himself as that frontrower. I'm still a fair way off that. I'm probably like a year or two behind Daniel in that sense so if I start chasing that too quickly, I'll feel like I'll disappoint myself.

"I'm taking it day by day. If I start thinking I'm going to play Origin next year, it's not going to happen. My main goal is just to play really good, consistent footy.

"If I can stay injury-free and give myself a chance to play every week and prove myself, I'll be happy."

This time last year, Saifiti started the pre-season with the best of intentions, earning high praise from then-coach Nathan Brown.

But it all came crashing down following his much publicised off-field incident outside a Hamilton hotel last December that saw him break his leg.

It set him back big time and by the time he got back on the field and worked his way into some decent fitness to earn an NRL recall, the season was almost done.

Now he finds himself down the frontrow pecking order behind the likes of David Klemmer, Tim Glasby, Herman Ese'ese and his brother with just next season left on his current contract.

But Saifiti claims his contract status is the least of his worries right now.

"It's an extra incentive obviously but at the same time, if I have a good pre-season and really rip in and then play the footy I want to play, those sorts of things can work themselves out," he said.

"I'm not looking too far ahead and putting pressure on myself. We have only just started pre-season so if I'm worrying about getting re-signed next year, it's not going to do anything for my mental state."

While he says Daniel is one of the most important people in his life, he sees him as just another frontrow rival when it comes to footy.

"At the start of our careers, there was a bit of competition there but now I look at Daniel as just another prop in a footy sense," he said.

"He's my brother and I couldn't be more proud of him and I'm so happy he is staying for a further two years because he deserves it. But at the end of the day, he is just another prop who is in front of me. That's how I have to look at it."

While a lot of teammates went on overseas trips to relax and wind down at the end of last season, Saifiti restricted himself to a "little holiday on the Gold Coast".

"I've been a lot more responsible and making sure to keep my head down," he said.

"I don't have any big goals in mind. I'm just focused on working really hard and establishing myself."