Keith Barnes, one of rugby league's most respected figures, described Billy Slater's talent as exceptional enough for him to join Immortals Clive Churchill and Graeme Langlands to form the code's holy trinity of fullbacks.
"I rate him in the same class," said Barnes, when asked how Slater compared to the two greats.
The grandson of rugby league's first superstar, Dally Messenger, added to Slater's lustre when he told The Sun-Herald he'd long believed the Melbourne Storm fullback was the "reincarnation" of the great Dally M. Slater was named the Dally M medallist during the week when he pipped Wests Tigers star Benji Marshall for the title - despite being rested by coach Craig Bellamy from the final game of the regular season against the Roosters.
The likes of Barnes, who captained the 1959 Kangaroos and played fullback for Balmain against both Langlands and Churchill, along with Dally Messenger III, suggested the award ceremony could well have been the 28-year-old's coronation as a member of rugby league's royalty.
Andrew Johns and Langlands also lined up to praise Slater, calling him a ''legend''.
"You'd put him up there in the Churchill and Langlands class," said 77-year-old Barnes. "Billy is sensational. He has flair in attack, his anticipation is great, he reads the game and his defence is first class - he has everything. It's a different game to when Churchill and Langlands played, but they had that same freedom in attack Slater has and they [also] did it over a long period of play."
Langlands added: "I haven't seen Billy Slater play a bad game, and I watch most games every weekend. His attack play is very, very good. He's done everything right. It's impossible to make comparisons between eras because the game has changed so dramatically, but he's by far the best fullback going around [at the moment]. He's great."
Dally Messenger III recalled when he first saw Slater play. "I had this overwhelming feeling my grandfather had been reincarnated," said Messenger. "He did things I'd never seen a rugby league player do before, and there have been some wonderful players over the years. I was close friends with Clive Churchill, and he really was brilliant. However, Billy is something different - he is the capital X in the X-factor. He has that extra edge. I have Dally's scrapbooks, and when you read some of the reports you think, 'could he really have done that?' But Billy proves he could have, because he's done some phenomenal things on the field. I see him as the greatest living example of my grandfather's profile."
Barnes said Langlands and Churchill had long been the benchmark for fullbacks because they were ''complete'' footballers. However, his memory of Churchill sounded as though he was commenting on Slater.
''[Clive] was fiercely competitive. He was a very confident and cheeky player on the field. He let you know he was a great player. In my opinion Slater is in that top three now.''
Slater credited his father for instilling his spark. ''My old man told me a long time ago that the good players don't think - they react,'' he said. ''That means when you're in a situation the first [thought] that comes into your mind is probably the best. That's first instinct.
''During the flow of the play it is all reaction because you really don't have much time to think; you're reacting to the situation.''
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