Although no kid grows up dreaming of being a bench player, the impact that they can have on the game is just as significant.
Case and point the NSW Origin team for 2018, although Jack De Belin started at lock for the Blues, Jake Trbojevic is a far superior player in terms of his tackling and running output.
However, Brad Fittler thought that Trbojevic had greater potential to change the game off the bench than De Belin, so he made the selection accordingly.
So take a look below at who we think are the best bench players in the NRL.
Off the back of his finest season in the NRL to date, the man who is affectionately known as 'Joffa' has finally lived up to the hype and cemented himself in the Broncos middle-forward rotation.
Ofahengaue put up numbers in 2018 that most starting forwards would envy, averaging a monstrous 120.6 running metres per game and 27 tackles from his 24 appearances.
Ofahengaeue is very much the new age front-rower, in that he is tall and built well, but surprisingly agile and possesses good late footwork at the line. Which he utilises to help gain post contact metres, of which he averaged 42.3 per game in 2018. For context, Paul Vaughan (who is notorious for his leg-drive and ability to break through the first line of defence) averaged 50 post contact metres per game in 2018.
Following a bumper 2018 coupled with the departure of veterans Sam Thaiday, Josh McGuire and Korbin Sims, Ofahengaue looks set to push himself into the starting pack in season 2019.
Following an outstanding season for the Dragons, 29-year-old Leeson Ah Mau has returned home to the Warriors on a well earned three-year deal.
Although Ah Mau has displayed a capability to start having cemented himself on the edge for the Dragons under Steve Price, it is off the bench in which he has had the most impact.
Having previously represented Samoa at the international level, Ah Mau's output off the bench for St George Illawarra was so good in 2018 that it resulted in a maiden call up to the Kiwi's squad.
Ah Mau practically forced coach Kiwi's coach Michael Maguire into picking him through his weekly performances, which included an average of 111.8 running metres per game, a 94.5% tackle efficiency (the 3rd highest in the NRL) and an impressive 21 offloads.
Ah Mau is similar to the aforementioned Joe Ofahengaeue, in that he possesses good late footwork at the line but can also drag players with him after the initial contact, averaging 42.3 post contact metres per game.
One of the finest compliments that could be paid to the Otahuhu Leopards junior is that following the initial 20-minutes of the game in which Ah Mau would normally come on to replace either Paul Vaughan or James Graham, the Dragons would still regularly win the middle and fans weren't yearning for the return of their two-starting front-rowers.
After returning home back across the ditch, look for Ah Mau to make a big impact for the rejuvenated Warriors in 2019.
The cat is well and truly out of the bag with Cameron Murray, with every opposition club now well aware of the damage this young tyro can do.
Admittedly, I might be cheating a bit here as Murray is set to break into the Rabbitohs starting pack in 2019, but I can only go off what we've seen so far, which has been mainly from the bench.
In 2018 Murray averaged 30.5 tackles per game along with 95.5 running metres. Extremely solid numbers for a 21-year-old in his first full season of NRL.
Also, a lot of the things Murray provides for his team can't be measured quantitatively. He regularly lifts the tempo coming off the bench for Souths, noticeably leading the defensive line from front and centre. Not to mention that according to Phil Gould (a decent judge of rugby league talent) Murray possesses the fastest play the ball in the NRL.
Another quality rarely noted about Murray is that he often pops up in the big moments. Such as when he one-on-one stripped Leeson Ah Mau of the Dragons in last year’s finals series, allowing the Bunnies to march up the field and grab a match-winning field goal. As well as scoring a number of match-defining late tries, such as his 76th-minute match-winning try against the Bulldogs in round 4, and a 70th minute try that gave Souths the lead against Melbourne in the first week of the finals.
After a superb first full season in the top grade, the Mascot Jets junior looks set to push Sam Burgess to the edge and cement himself as Souths' starting lock for years to come.
A relative unknown to most apart from diehard Wests Tigers fans, Alex Twal has proved to be a great investment following his mid-season switch to the Tigers from Parramatta in 2017.
Still only 22, Twal is a prototype NRL front-rower, in that he is tall, built, and surprisingly mobile for a man of his size.
After debuting for the Tigers in 2017, Twal cemented himself on the Tigers bench in 2018. The Eels junior had a breakout year, playing all but one of his 21 appearances off the bench, and only being absent from the final few rounds due to injury.
A somewhat surprising statistic that popped up during my research for this article was that the young prop possesses the most effective tackle percentage in the competition, with 95.3%. He also averages an impressive 94 running metres per game from 7.9 hit ups.
With the bruise brothers Russel Packer and Ben Matulino getting no younger, look for Twal to stake a claim for a starting jersey sooner rather than later.
Another surprise packet to feature on this list is 22-year-old Warriors prop Bunty Afoa. Perhaps previously best known for his wild haircut, Afoa is now making a name for himself amongst NRL clubs thanks to his impressive output.
After debuting for his hometown club at the tender age of 20, Afoa had his best season to date in 2018. Featuring 23 times for the Warriors, he was only ever absent from the team-list due to a dislocated elbow sustained against the Sharks in round 16. Amazingly, Afoa returned only two rounds later against the Storm, displayed some serious ticker if I may say so myself.
Although he is still growing into his body, Afoa is starting to come good on the promise he showed in the Warriors youth systems. Putting up impressive numbers from only limited minutes, averaging 86.2 running metres per game from 6.7 hit ups, and also possessing a 94.6% tackle efficiency, the 5th highest in the NRL.
Afoa is as tough as they come, with his no holds barred ball-running style endearing him to the Warriors faithful and NRL fans alike. If I'm ever watching a Warriors game as a mutual, there aren't many better sites than seeing the curly haired tyro with the ball in hand flying towards the opposition defensive line, with no thoughts of self-preservation in mind.
With fellow Kiwi enforcers, Adam Blair and Leeson Ah Mau slowly ageing out, watch out for Afoa to press his claims for a starting jersey in the coming season's.