One of my favourite events each and every NRL season is seeing young stars emerge.
Whether they be rookies who catch the attention of fans right away, like a Sam Walker or Reece Walsh, or a player who finally delivered on their promise, it never fails to bring a smile to fans' faces.
2022 looks like a season where a huge crop of talent see their stocks rise in a big way.
I'm going to look into my crystal ball and try to predict ten such players.
Players who will enjoy a Will Kennedy 2021-like season. Kennedy went from a handy fringe first grader to the star of the team over the course of this past year.
Players like Reece Walsh, Jayden Campbell and Sam Walker will be better at the end of 2022 than they are now, but their stocks are already sky high.
Much like past lists, this is purely for fun and not to be taken overly seriously. There will be misses on the below but if you asked me now; "Hey Dan, name 10 players you want to buy stock in now, to cash in end of season," these are those 10.
7. Joseph Suaalii
This one is borderline cheating as Suaalii has been named as a future megastar for two seasons now, but 2022 is the season he will realise his massive potential.
He was pretty good in 2021. Given the stacked Roosters roster and his young age, 2021 was never going to be a career-defining season.
There's every chance that Suaalii partners Joseph Manu in the centres from Round 1 in 2022. He has another full off-season under his belt heading into 2022 also.
It's worth remembering that Suaalii is still only 18 years of age. I have a feeling that 2022 will be a year to remember for the Roosters prodigy.
