Warships that filled the Tribal role before the Tribals

What warships performed the Tribal class's role before the Tribals entered service?

British destroyer leaders, particularly the Broke class, and to a lesser extent C-class cruisers before their anti-aircraft conversions.

The Tribal role had earlier functional ancestors. British destroyer leaders, especially the Broke class, supplied command presence and heavier capability to destroyer forces. C-class cruisers also performed part of the same fleet function. Their later conversion into anti-aircraft cruisers can obscure that earlier role.