When teams are riding high, on a run of form, or 'clicking', there are two players on the field that get looked at more than most - the ones starting at No 6 and No 7.
Indeed, they are just as much in the spotlight when teams are in a slump, with questions arising about whether the combination between the scrum-half and stand-off is working, whether their kicking games are on point, whether they are throwing the right passes and whether other options would be better.
After nine rounds of Super League, just four points separate Leeds in top spot and Catalans in seventh. Warrington Wolves and Hull KR sit in third and fifth respectively but with a game in hand.
Free-flowing rugby has been the narrative of 2026, with quicker play-the-balls, more points and more onus on attack.
With that in mind, attention turns to the pair tasked with barking orders and leading their team around the field.
Have those at the top been powered there by their half-backs? Can Leeds thank Jake Connor and Brodie Croft? And if so, what about them is clicking?
Can that key pairing change regularly and the results keep rolling in like St Helens' Jackson Hastings working with George Whitby, Jonny Lomax and Tristan Sailor?
Or are there more pieces to the puzzle than we are realising?
Some of our Your Site Rugby League pundits have taken a look and ranked which half-back pairings they think are firing the most...
Your Site Rugby League's Jodie Cunningham...
"Harry Smith and Bevan French have barely played together for Wigan and both are out at the minute. You can clearly see the impact of no Smith and we know the impact that French makes on that team and on that combination.
"Smith allows French to be the maverick and run. While you have to kind of discount them for right now, I think potentially once you get them in the side I would argue their impact is the biggest and I think the fact they are struggling is a reflection of that.
"I then have the Hull KR half-backs having more impact than the Leeds halves and it is a tight call. As the season progresses that may change.
"The reason I have Hull KR's half-backs as arguably more influential is because I think Lachie Miller [at full-back] plays such a key role in the ability for Leeds to move the ball around and score points.
"He allows Brodie Croft to have less pressure on him in terms of try assists and scoring tries as well.
"As much as Jake Connor's partnership with Croft is really important, I think Miller's combination in the three is really important.
"He has got nine try assists himself, he is right up there and has more try assists than Connor on eight and Croft on three.
"Miller himself is the final piece of that puzzle. That is the reason I put Lewis and May above Connor and Croft because I think they take a lot more control, pressure and influence because I don't think they have that same influence at full-back.
"Jack Broadbent has been great but his influence on that Hull KR team, I believe, is much less than Miller's on Leeds and so Lewis and May take on a lot more themselves.
"Lewis is up there on tries with nine but is also up there on try assists with eight. So, he is matching Connor's try assists but is scoring himself as well. Then May has scored two and has 13 try assists.
"So, when looking at their contributions and how they turn into points, you can say they still are and are a proven half-back pairing."
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