The advent of the six-man bench has opened new avenues for Newcastle Knights utility hooker Harrison Graham to refine his skills at the elite level.
This new rule has faced significant backlash within the NRL community, with critics arguing it hampers the development of players.
Under this regulation, teams can now choose six players from their interchange bench during matches, an increase from the previous four.
However, only four players will actually take the field, leaving two athletes to endure the complete match-day rituals, captains' run, and extensive NRL training without contributing on the field.
Concerns have been raised about the potential negative impact on young and fringe players' match fitness and overall growth, with Harry Grant expressing his apprehensions back in February.
Yet, for Graham, this shift presents an exciting chance to maximize his playing time and engage with the NRL.
"Yeah, the aim is to just be in the NRL team and now that I've been on the 19-man bench it probably gives me the opportunity to do that," Graham said.
"Whether my minutes are 10 minutes or 80 minutes I'm pretty happy doing whatever for the team."
"If I'm playing less minutes, I'll just have to make sure I'm topping myself up through the week and getting myself prepared for the week after."