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.
Looking at the best prospects in the Under-18s age bracket, only eight players who are listed were named in this year's Under-18s Australian Schoolboys squad, with many missing the Under-18s ASSRL National Championships due to injury or other commitments.
This includes future Sydney Roosters fullback Rex Bassingthwaighte, Wests Tiger debutant centre Heamasi Makasini and the halves pairing of Onitoni Large and Lincoln Fletcher who are set to turn heads in the coming years.
Under-18s Best 17 (born in 2007)
1. Rex Bassingthwaighte (Sydney Roosters)
2. Toby Winter (Newcastle Knights)
3. Heamasi Makasini (Wests Tigers)
4. Dayne Jennings (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
5. Antonio Verhoeven (Brisbane Broncos)
6. Onitoni Large (Manly Sea Eagles)
7. Lincoln Fletcher (Parramatta Eels)
8. Itula Seve (Sydney Roosters)
9. Cody Hill (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
10. Jackson Koina (Parramatta Eels)
11. Darcy Smith (Sydney Roosters)
12. Phoenix Godinet (Wests Tigers)
13. Thomas Dellow (Cronulla Sharks)
Interchange
14. Cameron Bamblett (Parramatta Eels)
15. Jared Horne (Brisbane Broncos)
16. Ryda Talagi (Parramatta Eels)
17. Brian Pouniu (The Dolphins)
Reserves
18. Callum Grantham (Cronulla Sharks)
19. David Bryenton (Canterbury Bulldogs)
20. Lui Lee (Sydney Roosters)
