SYDNEY Roosters recruitment manager Peter O'Sullivan reckons they are getting better every year.

Advanced training, diet, coaching and development programs are creating super athletes, he says.

Teenagers built like men. And big men at that.

It is hard to argue with O'Sullivan, considered the game's best scout, when you remember that Israel Folau, Krisnan Inu, Michael Jennings and Mitchell Pearce were nobodies last year.

This season the new breed includes a teenager touted as the next Sonny Bill Williams, a schoolboy who signed with the Panthers on a deal which could earn him a reported $500,000 and a young kid who could be the quickest thing the NRL has seen.

Meet the rookies who will set the NRL alight next season.

* Karl Filiga (formerly Karl McNichol)

THE Sharks earlier this year beat off five rival NRL clubs to sign the teenager, who has been heralded as the next Sonny Bill Williams.

Filiga, a 105kg 18-year-old, didn't come cheap.

Ricky Stuart and the Sharks reportedly forked out $200,000 to snare the kid, who hasn't yet played a minute of NRL.

Stuart has warned fans not to expect too much from Filiga. He is only a kid.

But you can expect to see the Wellington junior make his NRL debut this season.

Insiders at the Sharks say Filiga, who has impressed everyone during pre-season training, will have forced his way into the top grade before round 10. Expect to see him in the back row.

* Aaron Groom (Bulldogs)

MANLY fans were outraged last year when the Bulldogs swooped to poach boom 20-year-old half-back Aaron Groom.

The Fijian-born pivot was outstanding for the Sea Eagles in the Premier League, breaking games apart with his footwork and deft passing game.

But with Matt Orford in front of him, Groom has gone to Belmore in search of an NRL berth.

And with the shock departure of Brent Sherwin to play in the English Super League, he might just get what he wants.

* Shannon Walker (Titans)

O'Sullivan has declared Walker, a former Australian schoolboys winger, one of the quickest players he has ever seen.

An 18-year-old from Kyogle in northern NSW, Walker was last year signed by the Titans and played for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the Queensland Cup, where he was crowned young Titans player of the year.

"He has blinding acceleration," O'Sullivan said. "Quicker than anyone in the NRL.

"He is a natural ball-runner but he needs to get bigger to compete in first grade.

"He is a strike weapon who might start on the wing."

* Josh McCrone (Panthers)

MATT Elliott unearthed this talented half as a 16-year-old playing A-grade in Wagga Wagga when he coached Canberra Raiders.

When he moved to Penrith in 2006, Elliott never took his eye off the youngster and jumped at the chance to lure him up last year.

"He can play going to the line and there's not many halfbacks that can do that these days," Elliott said.

* Greg Waddell (Panthers)

Considered one of the game's hottest talents, Waddell, 16, earlier this year signed an incentive-based deal with Penrith which could see him earn $500,000 by the end of 2010.

The St Dominics Penrith Year 11 student was chased by every club in the NRL after staring in the centres for the Australian Schoolboys.

The Panthers don't want to rush the teen prodigy into grade but Waddell's talent may prove hard to resist.

* Martin Kennedy (Roosters)

A 115kg prop who at just 18 is expected to play in the NRL this season, Kennedy was voted man-of-the-match in the final of the Australian Schoolboys carnival held in Townsville earlier this year.

As far as props go, O'Sullivan says the Queensland product is as good as they get. "He has a massive build and a massive motor," O'Sullivan said.

"He is a front rower, so you take it a bit easier with them. He might play one or two games. We don't want to put him in too early. We want 10 years out of him."

* Ben Jones (Roosters)

A CHEEKY utility from Matraville High, Jones, 18, will this season become the man Brad Fitler looks to for impact off the bench.

One of the quickest players in the Roosters squad, the blood-nut 18-year-old has been branded a "natural footballer".

"I reckon he will play up to 10 games this year," O'Sullivan said.

"He is a real footy player who can read a game. He will play off the bench and learn his trade. He just needs to keep learning and he will be the bloke who'll give us some impact."

* Joseph Tomane (Storm)

A BRISBANE schoolboy rugby sensation who was early this year at the centre of a cross-code tug of war.

New South Wales Waratahs attempted to lure Tomane to rugby union after the 17-year-old signed a three-year scholarship with the Storm.

Storm fought bitterly to keep Tomane, considered as good as Folau but "more athletic".

Ray Thompson (Cowboys)

BEING the understudy to the world's best halfback can't be a good thing - or can it?

Insiders at the Cowboys say Thompson, 17, has come on in leaps and bounds under the guidance of Johnathan Thurston and may force his way into the top grade this year as a five-eighth.

The youngster is rated one of the best halfback prospects in league but may have to move to another club if he wants to wear the No.7.

* Tony Williams (Eels)

BIG, strong and quick - the 19-year-old has been compared to Feleti Mateo. Williams, a big centre destined for the back row, has been carefully nurtured in the Eels' lower grade sides. A player Michael Hagan will blood this year.