As a one-on-one battle it was up there with Robbie Farah versus Michael Ennis, and Timana Tahu says he was happy to turn on the entertainment in his tussle with young giant Jamal Idris.

Parramatta dual international Tahu was left looking bemused as 19-year-old Canterbury opposite Idris got the better of him with a lethal fend during Friday night's 26-10 victory by the Eels at ANZ Stadium.

"I'll just let the crowd decide who won that battle," Tahu told AAP on Monday.

"We met three or four, maybe five times and there were big collisions, got everyone out of their seats.

"It's just one of those things, you want to entertain the crowd and you want to be passionate about playing football and Jamal and I doing that, everyone loved it."

While Farah and Ennis will be at it again in Friday night's City-Country clash, Tahu and Idris will be on the same side and it turns out the combatants are close mates.

"We know each other's families, we know each other pretty well and we've been around each other all day today," Country centre Tahu said.

"He's close friends with my wife's family.

"For us as indigenous people it's a small world, we know everyone.

"He's a nice kid plus he's only 19, big, strong, he's athletic, he's got a big future ahead of him.

"He's like (former Canberra star) Noa Nadruku, he's got agility ... Jamal mixes his game up, he's got a fend, he's got a bit of footwork, he's got a bit of vision.

"He's got some skills for a 19-year-old."

Tahu and Idris were in camp with Country Origin in Port Macquarie, where they will line up against the City centre pairing of Chris Lawrence and Beau Champion.

Left centre Tahu is likely to mark the South Sydney tryscorer.

"He's started with a bang this year," Tahu said of Champion.

"Beau Champion's probably been (Souths') attacking weapon.

"I think people may have been taking him a little bit lightly and not respecting him.

"He's proved his point that he's up there."

Champion can expect plenty of passion again from Tahu, a proud Country boy having spent parts of his childhood in Bourke, Wilcannia and Grafton.

"It's exactly the same as putting on a Kangaroo or an Origin jumper, that's the way I treat it," Tahu said.

Country announced on Monday that Canberra centre Joel Thompson would be their 18th man for the match at Regional Sports Stadium.

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