Before Bevan French departed for the English Super League midway through the 2019 season, the explosive fullback was arguably the most in-form player of the Canterbury Cup NSW competition.
Making the no.1 jersey his own with the Wentworthville Magpies, French was producing some incredible individual performances that saw him record 13 tries, 13 try-assists, 10 line-breaks, 12 line-break assists and 57 tackle-breaks in just 15 appearances.
His best performance came in Round 10 of last year's campaign, recording three tries, three line-breaks, eight tackle-breaks and 174m in the Magpies' 30-14 victory over the Dragons.
That was just two weeks after French had the distinction of scoring the first-ever try at Bankwest Stadium when the Magpies hosted the Western Suburbs Magpies in the first professional sporting fixture at the new world-class facility.
The 24-year-old managed just one appearance for the Eels in 2019 before signing a two-year deal with Wigan Warriors and quickly became a fan-favourite with his lightning speed and prolific try-scoring ability.
He was widely tipped to win the Man of Steel Award in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Super League competition to be temporarily suspended.
French left the NRL with an incredible try-scoring record, scoring 35 tries in 47 first-grade games since his debut in 2017.
