Despite the ongoing difficulties and trying circumstances our second-tier leagues have faced, the development of young stars looking to burst onto the NRL scene has not slowed down.
Namely, with the NSW Cup's constant crop of future household names, it will be hard to draw our attention away from the next line of NRL stars despite the aforementioned setbacks.
With this in mind, we take a look at five of the best NSW Cup prospects to keep an eye on in the future.
Canberra Raiders - Second-row
Webb is a strong ball running back-rower that is a standout junior player from the Canberra region.
The 18-year-old plays across the second-row but prefers to play the lock position. Webb has grown comparisons to current Raiders star Elliot Whitehead, due to his ability to score tries close to the final line.
Webb also offers a deadly right foot step that allows him to maximise his line-breaking capability. He is known as a leader and captained the Raider's SG Ball team to a premiership win over the Illawarra Steelers in May.
Dogged in defense and possessing no real weaknesses defending the line, Webb is a name to keep tabs on among the Green Machine's youth stocks.
Penrith Panthers - Halfback
Falls is a playmaking half that had a strong 2021 NSW Cup season, which awarded him his maiden first-grade deal with the Panthers.
The talented halfback is a local Penrith junior that played alongside club captain Nathan Cleary at St Dominic's college as a schoolboy.
An older recruit at 24 years of age, Falls often uses his age as an advantage to fuel his great form. A good passer that often moves his team around the park with conviction, Falls is a highly accurate place-kicker and often finishes off his teammates good work.
He will need to wait in the wings behind Cleary but will of course be in frame for selection for the upcoming 2022 NRL season given Matt Burton's absence.
Falls led the reserve grade competition with 3,866 kicking metres this year.
West Tigers - Halfback
The Wests Tigers rookie was able to play three games in the NRL this season and has been a key feature back in NSW Cup for a majority of the season.
Madden was able to score five tries in just nine rounds of the 2021 NSW Cup season as a halfback, emerging as a dynamic playmaker that often finds holes in opposition defences and breaks the line himself.
The 21-year-old has showed in reserve grade that he can be a threat when playing out of dummy-half around the ruck. His quick hands enabled the Western Suburb Magpies to move the ball with purpose.
Madden topped the points leaderboard in NSW Cup with 130 total points scored. He can kick for goal and has a high conversion rate and will look to put together more games for the Tigers and push to be a regular each week.
Penrith Panthers - Centre
The younger brother of Penrith utility back Tyrone May, Taylan is a try-scoring machine. The 20-year-old boasts a big frame for a centre, but has very quick feet.
May has the ability tp beat the first defender and get over the line for a try with some comfort. He won the tackle break statistic in the NSW Cup with 57 total busts and was able to earn a debut in first-grade after dominating at reserve grade level.
Also able to push out to the wing when needed, May has scored tries in the corner many times this season and will look to improve his defence in aiming to become more consistent in 2022 as he eyes a regular position in the Panthers' NRL side.
Parramatta Eels - Prop
Makatoa is a giant prop that prides himself on his dominate tackling and is a mature-aged player that has earned an NRL berth earlier this season.
The 28-year-old played four NRL games and a further five matches in the NSW Cup in 2021. A very difficult player to bring down in a tackle, Makatoa often notches up many post-contact metres.
In fact, Makatoa lead the NSW cup in post-contact metres (963m) from just the five games. He loves to rush up on the opposition attack and use his large frame to hit the ball players very hard, looking to cause errors and havoc for the opposition attack.
Makatoa is a known enforcer in reserve grade and plays that role well, offering plenty of upside and he may add to the talented forward pack the Eels currently have. Let's hope he can add more caps to his Eels career.