The Shute Shield is stacked with young players ready to take the next step in their rugby careers. Ahead of the bye this weekend, we thought we’d take a look at the best players in the competition, 23-years old and under.

To be eligible, players must have been born in 1999 or later and have played first grade in the last month.

Props: Sateki Latu (Warringah) & Darcy Breen (Sydney Uni)

Rats coach Mike Ruthven singled out Sateki Latu as a player to watch this year and the 23-year old prop hasn’t disappointed. At his best, Latu has shades of Taniela Tupou about him around the park and has taken big steps forward at set piece time this year.