News reports and social media feeds are dominated by the superstars of our game. The Cam Smiths, the Johnathan Thurstons and the Billy Slaters rightfully find their name in lights on the back of match-winning efforts.
For every superstar though, there are a group of players who lay the foundation and for whatever reason often come across as underappreciated. Certainly underrated.
Below are 10 such names. Players who always turn up, play well, but don't hog the headlines. They are all current-day players who have been underrated over the past three-or-so seasons.
While the likes of Gallen, Fifita and Graham attract all the headlines, Matt Prior has been going about his business and has been doing a great job for the Sharks.
One of the true heroes of the Premiership run in 2016, Prior joined Fifita as joint winners of the Sharks player of the year award. He completely turned the semi-final match-up against Canberra, in Canberra, with a try and an offload that led to a try.
If the Sharks had lost that game you can almost guarantee a different result come October 2nd.
No one has been unluckier when it comes to rep selection than Jarrod Croker. For the life of me, I can't explain why his name has not come up in serious discussions for sky blue jerseys in the past few years.
He is a point scoring machine, one of the game's elite placekickers, and has dramatically improved his defence.
Sadly his rep window may have closed but he could very easily have had 5 to 10 NSW jumpers in his closet.
Another of Cronulla's unsung heroes from their 2016 Premiership run, the multiple time Samoan international always puts in.
His try-scoring numbers seem to go under the radar, as do his try assist to Sosai Feki.
Sharks fans will never forget the tackle he made to wrap up the grand final victory, but the majority of his defensive work is massively under-appreciated
Playing in a side featuring the likes of Thurston, Scott, Taumalolo and Morgan, it's tough to stand out.
Kyle Feldt has done some amazing things during his time at the Cowboys, including a pretty handy try in early October 2015. He has scored 48 tries in just 74 appearances, an incredible strike rate.
His work under the high ball is incredible, as many opposition wingers will confirm.
The third of Cronulla's underrated players to feature. No Premiership halfback has ever gone under the radar quite like "The Chad".
Townsend has a blinder in 2016 and for the majority of the season outplayed James Maloney. The way he came back from a shocker in Canberra to play a match-winning role in the semi-final vs the Cowboys says a lot about his character.
He thoroughly outplayed Cooper Cronk on Grand Final day. Townsend returned to the Sharks a far better player for his time in New Zealand and has not looked back.
Much like Croker, Thompson can feel a little hard done by in that he hasn't worn the sky blue NSW jersey during his career.
He played twice for Country, but even that sounds below what his performances have warranted.
Manly have picked up a very hard working back rower who will sneak the odd offload and bust some defences open. His signing will go under the radar but trust me when I say Manly fans will soon become fans.
The Dragons winger has seemingly been around forever. He's scored over 100 times from almost 250 games.
He has a stack (33) Kiwi jumpers and has arguably been their best winger prior to the emergence of Jordan Rapana. Nightingale has won battles against some of the game's greatest wingers but seems to always be forgotten.
At 31 years of age, he will likely bring up 300 NRL games in 2019 or 2020. The ultimate professional and club man.
What would your reaction be if I told you Mitch Aubusson, injury aside, will bring up 250 NRL games this year? I was stunned.
Aubusson has been the Rooster's Mr Fix It for as long as I can remember, playing anywhere from backrow, to the centres, to impact player off the bench. Few players are there to make tackles with the same ferocity in the 79th minute as they are in the first, but Aubusson is exactly that player.
There aren't many players as versatile as Aubusson. Another who really should have been in the New South Wales frame far more than he was.
The names you hear coming out of New Zealand are always Johnson, his halves partner, and players like RTS and Luke. For mine, the Kiwis best player over the past few years has been Simon Mannering.
He always makes a mountain of tackles, plenty of metres, and is nearly always the one last left chasing opposition tries. The New Zealanders have not lived up to lofty expectations for many years but Mannering has always done himself proud.
He may join the 300 game club in 2018 which will draw attention on what has been an incredible career. He's on track to bring up 50 New Zealand jerseys also. A brilliant player who has, for whatever reason, never really attracted the praise he has deserved.
No player has gone under the radar in recent times quite like Michael Gordon. He was the Sharks best in two of his three years at the club. He was arguably the Eels best last season and was brilliant for the Roosters.
In 225 NRL games, he has always done himself proud across his four clubs. It's almost criminal that he has just the one rep jersey to his name. Gordon's pick up by the Titans has escaped attention, but his presence will lift those around him on the holiday strip.
If not for injury he would be approaching 300 games and could really have a stack of NSW jerseys.