It is easy to spot talent in the obvious places, the real skill is finding that player off the beaten track.
Away from the schoolboy championships, junior rep sides, private schools and all the main pathways, there is a lot of talent that goes unnoticed.
Justin Olam could very easily have been one of those.
However the numbers he was putting up as a 21-year-old in the Queensland Cup simply could not be ignored.
He was lighting up like a beacon on the radar of the Storm recruiting team who monitor the numbers coming in from the state-based competition.
"Week after week he was always returning good numbers," Storm Recruit Recruitment Manager Paul Bunn said.
"He was a kid who tried every week. We were looking for a kid in our squad who we could develop from the Q Cup and he was an outside back that we thought we wanted to take a chance on.
"Craig and the coaches thought 'let's take a punt on this young fella' so away we went."
Olam arrived in Melbourne in the summer of 2016.
He made it through his first pre-season and spent the remainder his first season performing strongly for Storm feeder side Sunshine Coast Falcons.
In 2017 it was all about rapid improvement for Olam, that and adjusting to a world that was a long way away from the one he knew.
"Our welfare blokes did a really good job on bringing Justin in and transitioning him into the Club," Bunn said.
"He's coming from village life, it is a damn good effort, he has adapted really well. He trained hard up in PNG and never complained.
"He is powerful, runs the ball hard, takes some tough carries. When he tackles they stay tackled.
Finally, last Sunday, all the patience, persistence and resilience paid off for Olam when he became just the second player from Papua New Guinea to pull on the purple jersey.
That moment when he ran out against the Dragons in Round 9 was watched by almost every one of the eight million people back home.
Now for the next exciting chapter in the Justin Olam story.
