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.
Simon Mannering
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.
