By Barry Toohey
August 21, 2008 SEVERE burn-out in junior ranks is being blamed for a "drought" of brilliant rookies this year.
Although dozens of players have made their NRL debuts, none of the newcomers can lay claim to the freakish freshman performances that made the likes of Israel Folau, Greg Inglis and Jarryd Hayne certified superstars in recent seasons.
With voting for the 2008 Dally M Rookie of the Year starting this week, Rabbitohs half-back Chris Sandow holds favouritism in a roughly equal list of contenders that includes Taulima Tautai, Justin Carney, Matthew Keating, Tony Williams, Daine Laurie and Junior Sau.
Compared with last year's crack field of Krisnan Inu, Michael Jennings, Mitchell Pearce and Folau, the class of 2008 struggles to hold its own.
The amazing Folau eventually won the award - and then added a premiership medal and Australia jersey to his scrapbook inside the following month.
Inu also debuted for the Kiwis in his rookie season, while Pearce graduated to State of Origin level this year and the electrifying Jennings has been named in Australia's World Cup train-on squad.
Superstar potential aside, NRL recruitment chiefs have noticed that the majority of this year's rookies haven't gone close to completing a full season in first grade.
Parramatta's Keating and Tautai have managed 20 and 19 games respectively - far more than their peers.
Sandow - outstanding since his debut in round 13 - has played just 10 matches, ahead of Sau (9), Williams (8), Laurie (8) and Carney (7).
Teenage Penrith duo Lachlan Coote and Wade Graham both made impressive entrances, only for their seasons to be ruined by knee injuries after just a handful of games.
Roosters recruitment head Peter O'Sullivan - the man credited for discovering Folau - denied there were long-term concerns for the game's ability to continue producing top-shelf players.
But O'Sullivan urged NRL powerbrokers to be mindful of the toll exerted on schoolboy juniors, the reason so many have failed to go the distance this year.
