If it is the case, Talatau Amone and Tyrell Sloan have had very bright futures for some time now - have done since Sloan took up residence in the Amone household as a youngster.

It's where the first conversations about playing alongside each other at NRL level took place, and continued with some regularity in the years that followed.

"We spoke a lot about it coming through," Sloan recalls.

"That's all we wanted to do. I lived with Junior (Amone) for a bit there so we were together each and every day. We've always spoken about it since then.

"He was at Wests and I was at Dapto so, while we did play a bit together in under 13's and 14's, it was in Harold Matthews when we really started playing a lot of footy together.

"When we went through into SG Ball we started taking it a lot more seriously and thought we could actually make this together."

The belief was not without foundation given the success they enjoyed with the Steelers as 17-year-olds in 2019. Simply put, that SG Ball side was a good'n.

Amone and Sloan featured alongside Jayden Sullivan and Mat and Max Feagai (all a year older) in a premiership-winning team many consider a once-in-a-generation stockpile of talent.

Aaron Schoupp was there too, though he subsequently slipped the Dragons net and ended up at the Bulldogs with whom he played 13 NRL games last season.

They'd always spoken about it but, according to Amone, it's where the dream ended. It was now an opportunity, and one within reach.

"There was always talk about us making it all the way but it's something everyone says when you're young," Amone said.

"You do freakish stuff in a game and say 'oh, you'll be there one day' and 'imagine doing this in the NRL' without really believing it.

"When we started winning games in SG Ball we'd say 'it'd be crazy if we could start doing this in the top grade'. It was probably after winning that GF that the [genuine] belief came.

"I think that gave birth to that belief."

From early conversations, the drive became unspoken, an understanding, communicated with the same nods and winks they shared on the rise through the Steelers ranks.

It was no different when they got their first crack at some diluted NRL action ahead of last season, featuring alongside Sullivan in the Dragons first trial outing against Cronulla.

It was little more than a barrier trial for players first-up off a spell, youngsters with a smattering seasoned stars who'd played a stipulated 12 games or less in the COVID-disrupted 2020 campaign.

"When Junior, Sully and I got to play that trial at Cronulla there, I just remember running out and looking at Junz," Sloan recalls.

"It was a trial match but we took it really seriously as you should. I remember it so clearly, him just nodding his head at me. There was a little message there 'let's do our thing' and I thought 'yeah, this is our time'."

For Amone it was a continuation of a long-practiced ritual.

"Before every game with those boys we always have that look at each other," Amone said.

"In the positions we're in, they're key positions on the field. If we go good, the team goes good. If we go bad, the team goes bad. It's on us.

"Before every game we look at each other and we know we'll hold it down for each other, we know we'll put our bodies on the line for each other.

"It's just a nod and that's when we know it's game on.

"That trial was the first time we were playing against men and it felt like it was the first step up into the NRL. We walked out there with each other and said 'it's time. We've been waiting for this opportunity, here it is'.

"We just gave each other that look and it was on from there."

For fans, the trio's emergence hits a number of sweet spots. For one, it comes hot on the heels of Penrith's return to the NRL summit.

The Panthers rise to last year's flag was built around the likes of Nathan Cleary, Jarome Luai, Brian To'o, Stephen Crichton and Matt Burton.

It was a crop of youngsters that collected junior rep trophies like Winx collected Group 1's before adding the ultimate prize to the list last season.

The Panthers success, and the overdue demise of the NYC competition at the end of 2017, have put a renewed focus on genuine junior development.

There's been no shortage of those willing to draw comparisons between those Panthers and the Steelers class of 2019.

For a fanbase starved of recent success, it's certainly cause for optimism.

That can bring its own kind of pressure. There's a few on the Dragons current roster that could speak to that in the likes of Moses Mbye, Moses Suli and Tautau Moga who've have all ridden that roller coaster.

For an absolute authority on it, you could do worse than Dragons premiership-winner Jamie Soward. No player has ever come through the ranks more highly-touted.

He famously played the 'Darren Lockyer role' in an opposed session against the Phil Gould-coached NSW during the 2004 Origin series, stunning Blues players with his mimicry of the future Immortal.

When he booted home two field goals for the Roosters to complete an undefeated season in that year's Jersey Flegg grand final, a star was truly born - all before even featuring in the NRL.

Spoiled by success, Roosters fans felt they had a successor to the retiring Brad Fittler. The reality was rougher, Soward's career only fully blossoming following a mid-season switch to the Dragons in 2007.

Read more: Woods vows to deliver as Grifin names squad for season-opener

Today's young guns remain under a microscope, but Soward feels an overall shift in the shape of NRL rosters post-NYC makes it a different scenario to that of his generation.

"When I was at the Roosters and we won Jersey Flegg undefeated, first grade had been to three grand finals in a row and Brad Fittler was one of the greatest players ever in the six," Soward recalls.

"I felt that pressure for sure. It was more of the off-field stuff and trying to fit in there. I think it was a lot harder than what it is today. It was just come in, put your boots on, and only speak if you're spoken to.

"You had seasoned first-graders everywhere. When you were playing reserve grade it was playing with and against first graders pissed off they weren't in first grade.

"I think it's a lot different now. There's a broader range of experience and you've got a lot of guys around you that have only played 10-20-30 games. You don't have to have played 60-70 first grade games to come in and express yourself."

That's certainly not an issue for Amone, Sloan, Sullivan and co. Their free-wheeling willingness to do so on the park is what's got people so excited.

Now on the Dragons coaching staff, it's something Soward shares, though it'll require some patience.

"I would hate to watch my first 60 games as a half," he said.

"You've got to be patient for sure, but last year was so good on so many levels for those guys getting that exposure to the NRL.

"Junior's one of those raw talents and he actually reminds me of Kyle Stanley a lot. He didn't have any luck with injuries, but he was just a natural footballer.

"He could play anywhere, was a big body and could do anything for your team. Junior reminds me of that with his five-eighth skills coming through being so elite.

"I think it's a huge learning phase for Tyrell at the moment. We've all seen what he can do with the ball, but the best fullbacks in the world do just as much stopping tries and getting people in the right position [defensively].

"Bud (Sullivan) has had some in-and-outs and a bit of a stuttered start with injuries but that natural game awareness is definitely there with him.

"The good thing is they've got the talent to be in that position, but there's experience around them so, when the ship starts rocking a bit, they can steady it."

Talent may be just one slice of the pie chart, but the trio tick plenty of other boxes. As young men, you'll hear nothing but good things.

The swagger's there, inevitable when winning's become a habit, but the ego that typically accompanies it is absent.

For his part, Amone isn't feeling any burden beyond nailing down the No. 6 jumper he finished last season in.

"I try and stay away from the media stuff. There's some good stuff out there and there's some bad stuff," he said.

"I try and steer clear of it either way. Read the good stuff and your ego will get up, read the bad stuff and it's getting to you.

"You can't avoid all of it. People say they don't see it but you're always going to see it, it's all over Instagram, Facebook, Fox Sports and all that.

"What people say and what people's expectations are, I don't let it get to me. We know what we've got to do to be a part of this.

"We knew coming into first grade, especially after last year, that there would be talk about us. We try and not focus on it too much.

"We just want to go out there and play footy. That's what we do best and I don't worry about the outside noise."

In perhaps the most ironic twist, the foreseeable future will see Amone in competition with Sullivan for the one spot alongside skipper Ben Hunt.

While it's "a lot different" to what they've experienced as a dynamic duo, Amone's confident it'll bring out the best in both of them in the long and short-term.

"People might look at it from the outside and think it's awkward but we know how it is. That's footy," Amone said.

"We've played together since we were young and never really competed against each other but we both want what's best for the team.

"With Ben Hunt there we knew we'd have to battle it out sooner or later. I'd rather have a battle with a close mate than someone fresh coming in because I'm still helping him get better and he's still helping me get better.

"You're not going to get the best out of yourself without that competition. You can't get too comfortable. If you are, you'll never hit your best."

Impressive trial form and a hamstring injury to Sullivan will see Amone get first crack alongside Hunt for Saturday's round one clash with the Warriors.

Hunt will be calling the shots, but there's a noticeable shift in the mindset of his young foil on the back of a full preseason.

"Last year I was coming in just trying to find my feet and hoping," Amone said.

"I wanted to train and prove to Hook (Griffin) that I am ready for that No. 6. I feel like I proved I could do that at the end of last year, but it's a different thing playing 26 rounds.

"I feel like I have to step up a bit and try to be more of a leader on the field now. It's definitely a different mindset this year."

Download the Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.

Sign up for breaking news emails below ...