I heard Wayne Bennett talking about hookers once. He said most first grade coaches want a hooker that can follow instructions and tackle. He named Smith, Cook, Korisau and Manase Fainu as exceptional because a coach could trust them to make their own decisions as to what was in front of them and that is a game changing skill.
I guess the same applies to halfbacks. There's not too many like JT, Cleary, Adam Reynolds, Cooper Cronk. They seem to be able to make stars of the players around them.
If you have a rep quality hooker or halfback, preferably both, you're a long way to winning the comp.