Halfback is the most important position in the NRL. I don't think anyone can dispute that statement.

We saw how drastically the Sharks' performances improved with the arrival of a class halfback. Meanwhile, those sides struggling to find a star number seven very rarely play finals footy.

Luckily for fans, there seems to be a plethora of talented number sevens in the game right now. Ranking them was very, very difficult and I'm sure will be met with nothing but positivity in the comments.

As with other lists, this is based purely on 2022. It's not necessarily the best players in this position overall.

To qualify a player must have played halfback more often than not. There will be one technical exception as we saw with the five-eights.

6. Chad Townsend

Chad Townsend force fed me a big serving of crow in 2022. I doubt I was the only one questioning his signing, especially on the rumoured money he was signed on for.

Townsend played his part almost to perfection for the entire season. Unfortunately, he probably saved his worst game of the year for the Prelim but up until then he was near flawless.

He produced a career-high 20 try assists for his new club as well as forcing 17 dropouts and kicking for almost 400 metres per game.

Adding to the above, his 86.9% tackle efficiency and calm, experienced head saw him more than justify his signing.