As rugby league fans across the country eagerly await the NRL's return, Zero Tackle has taken a trip down the junior pathways and examined the talent of the next generation, who are set to be the future of the competition over the coming years.
While an Under-18s Australian Schoolboys team is named annually, Zero Tackle will be naming the best players from each age group who are set to be watched closely in the near future.
Headlined by Monson Hopoate from the famed 'Hopoate Family' and Under-15s ASSRL National Championships Player of the Tournament Lenton Steven Funaki, the best players from the Under-17s age bracket are the stars of the next generation.
This includes several cross-code athletes such as Digby Ioane and Bronson Tupou, the halves pairing of Nate Herring and Nate Millar as well as Dolphins-contracted lock Cruz Molo.
Under-15s Best 17 (born in 2010 or later)
1. Kolby Walters (North Queensland Cowboys)
2. Isaiah Tepairi (Canterbury Bulldogs)
3. Digby Ioane (Broncos State High School)
4. Monson Hopoate (Wests Tigers)
5. Ethan Mullins (Cronulla Sharks)
6. Nate Herring (Newcastle Knights)
7. Nate Millar (Penrith Panthers)
8. Bronson Tupou (St Johns Eagles)
9. Tyson Tai (Brisbane Broncos)
10. Lenton Steven Funaki (Wavell State High School)
11. Jack Asplet (Newcastle Knights)
12. Jake Capovilla (Parramatta Eels)
13. Cruz Molo (The Dolphins)
Interchange
14. Jesse-James Schuster (The Dolphins)
15. Kobie McGaughey (Newcastle Knights)
16. Knight Tanielu (The Dolphins)
17. Sam Large (Sydney Roosters)
Reserves
18. Devida Hopoate (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
19. Lorima Seu Seu (Parramatta Eels)
20. Ike Bilish (Gold Coast Titans)
