As Super Rugby Pacific wraps up, this is the time of the year when the influx of talent starts to filter back into the respective club competitions across the country.
Clubland is a breeding ground for the stars of today and tomorrow as players either push for higher honours or look to improve their game heading into 2025.
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The images of Beauden Barrett prepping for the All Blacks by playing for Coastal in Taranaki premier club rugby were splashed across the internet after the All Blacks legend was denied a return to the Super Rugby Pacific.
With this in mind, Rugby.com.au looks at star players across the country who have stood out from the weekend.
The Waratahs half was exceptional in the three-point win over Sydney Uni as he pieced apart the attack.
He got them on the board with a lovely cutout ball to find Sevens rookie Ben Dalton in the corner for their opening try.
It was one of five line-break assists on the afternoon for Edmed, who set up two further tries.
He also terrorised the Uni defence with his carry, breaking eight tackles in the win.
The Reds star got a confidence booster before next month's U20s World Championships with a steady performance in the win over GPS.
His boot kept Souths in the game in the first half, kicking four penalties, including two long-range efforts left to level the scores heading into the break.
GPS re-took the lead in the second half, only for Souths to score two late tries to hit the front late.
With time expired, the flyhalf matched his heroics against the Chiefs as he held up the attacker and forced the game-winning turnover.
Beale was one of several Super stars to make an impact off the bench this weekend as they slowly return to action.
The Force star came on the field after half-time and made an impact with his playmaking.
He set up four line-break assists as Randwick ran away with the victory, with Waratah Triston Reilly joining Beale on the action in a 47-3 victory.
The former Highlanders flyer had a brilliant game on the wing for Wests in Queensland.
Dawai crossed for a first half hat-trick in the 45-10 win over Sunnybank for the Bulldogs.
Rebels stars Ethan Dobbins and Glen Vaihu also crossed in the dominant victory, with captain and four-cap Red Connor Anderson getting a double
Former Sevens star Coward has impressed at the Unicorns since returning from a stint in Portugal.
Coward, who featured at the Tokyo Olympics, finished with a hat-trick in the 31-29 defeat to Harlequins.
He finished with 24 points on the afternoon, having headed into the round second on the point scoring table.
