There are few more official ways to declare someone 'the next big thing' than for the league to rate them the best junior player of the year - and between 2008 and 2017, that's what the NRL did annually.

The Dally M Under-20s Player of the Year award is not to be confused with the Rookie of the Year gong. While the rookie of the year goes to the youngster who has best adapted to the demands of the NRL, the under-20s award went to the most talented (but untested) youngsters still in the development pool.

It's a great way to hype someone up, but it also heaps expectation upon a young man's shoulders - and each winner has dealt with it in different ways. Though most are still playing and some are gone from the game not one of the most talented juniors in the land has become a premiership winner - though some have come closer than others.

8. Ash Taylor (2015 - Brisbane Broncos)

Few players came into the NRL more highly rated than Ash Taylor, the gun young Broncos half who had drawn early comparisons to Langer and Lockyer. He was rewarded for his incredible form with a Round 25 debut for the Broncos against Melbourne โ€“ coincidentally filling in for 2007 winner Ben Hunt โ€“ but his debut was cut short when he fractured his finger.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MAY 24: Ashley Taylor of the Titans kicks the ball in the warm up during the round 11 NRL match between the Manly Sea Eagles and the Gold Coast Titans at Lottoland on May 24, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)

He then signed a big-money contract at the Titans, personifying the clubโ€™s desire to build a team around a bright young talent โ€“ and for the first year, it worked. Taylor combined with Tyrone Roberts to take the Titans to the finals for the first time since 2010 and the future looked bright โ€“ he even won that Dally M Rookie of the Year award, the only award-winner to claim the award after the NYC gong.

But the downhill spiral coincided with the divisive Jarryd Hayne-Neil Henry era of the club, and within two years Taylor had been given personal leave and then demoted to reserve grade, with big questions over his future. He even offered to take a pay cut.

Eventually he landed at the Warriors and that sense of optimism came over everyone again, but it wasnโ€™t to be, with Taylor playing just one more game before being forced into retirement with a hip injury

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