After coming close to making the 2025 NRL Grand Final, the Canterbury Bulldogs will need to rely on the next generation of young players coming through the ranks as they aim to move closer to winning their first premiership since 2004.
Over the past couple of years, the likes of Harry Hayes, Jethro Rinakama, Jonathan Sua and Lipoi Hopoi have been introduced to the NRL after successfully progressing through the club's ranks.
So...who's next?
8. Alex Conti
The club's Under-19s SG Ball Cup skipper in 2025, Alex Conti has been touted for big things from a young age and hasn't dissapointed since making the move to Belmore after beginning his career with the Balmain Tigers.
A star junior in both rugby league and union, he was a member of the Junior Blues squad in 2022 alongside Liam Ison and Samuela Fainu, a member of the NSW Waratahs Academy and also represented the Under-16s Australian Wallabies in the 15-man code growing up.
While he has yet to reach the heights as some players on this list, Conti has been able to develop in a variety of positions including in the halves and at dummy-half and is the perfect utility to come off the interchange bench.
"It's an honour to wear the Bulldogs jersey. It's a really good privilege and I think a lot of boys don't take it for granted," Conti exclusively told Zero Tackle.
"It was hard (to leave the Tigers) having grown up there and it being my junior club, but I saw an opportunity at the Bulldogs, so I just took it.
"I want to take my opportunities as they come. You don't know where you're going to be playing so just want to play my best footy here, try to be consistent and stay away from injuries.
"If that NRL does come, it'd be the world! That's what everyone works for."
