The halves positions are the most impactful positions to a team's success.
Forwards have to make metres to allow the halves to succeed and centres and wingers have to finish opportunities created by the halves, but everything comes back to the halves.
A team's success and failure sits on the shoulders of the two halves. This is why young halves require time to find their way in the NRL (looking at you, Canterbury Bulldogs) and usually don't succeed until at least their mid-twenties.
This is why the names below are so highly regarded and worthy of mention. These are the five best five-eighths and halfbacks in the NRL aged 22 and under.
4. Tom Dearden - 21
Struggling to hold his spot at the Brisbane Broncos and regularly seeing his name in the media as the team floundered, it wasn't an easy start for Tom Dearden.
With the way people spoke about him, you would think he was 25.
Next to veteran Chad Townsend at the North Queensland Cowboys, Dearden looks to have found a home and himself.
While his ceiling may not be as high as some players, his floor is higher than most. The very worst Dearden could be is an NRL-level halfback and that isn't as common as you might think.
As he develops his game-management skills next to Townsend over the coming years, it would be no surprise if we look up in a couple of years and Dearden is one of the best halfbacks in the game.
