If it wasn't already, the race to be the next New South Wales State of Origin coach is now surely over.
Brad Fittler, who by all rights should have been named coach weeks ago anyway, oversaw history yesterday as Lebanon stormed to a first ever World Cup victory.
The Mitchell Moses inspired 'Cedars' defeated the French national side 29-18 in beautiful conditions in the nation's capital in front of a small but extremely proud and vocal crowd.
The celebrations post game showed just how much the win meant to players and fans alike, and right in the middle of the party? Brad Fittler!
The victory just adds yet another achievement to Fittler's resume, which also contains a hugely successful stint in charge of the NSW City rep team. He leads the un-fancied City Slickers to three wins and a draw in six games and also helped restore a level of prestige to a jersey that should have meant more than it did before Fittler's arrival.
Given the somewhat farcical circumstances that often surrounded the annual fixture, for Fittler to lead a side to even one victory over Country sides driven on by vocal home crowds is a massive achievement, let alone three.
Not to mention Fittler's invaluable experience at Origin level, where he represented the state a record 31 times (including 14 games as captain) and remains one of the best players to ever pull on the sky blue jersey.
Some may point to his ultimately disappointing stint at the head of his beloved Roosters, but given the circumstances he inherited following Chris Anderson's departure, he restored some pride to the tri-coloured jersey and lead them to some memorable victories. That's a huge win for a rookie coach.
Obviously coaching in the rep arena is a world apart from the week-to-week efforts of NRL coaches.
It's in the Origin arena where I believe Fittler's abilities as a motivator and mentor will really flourish.
Just his presence is motivating for young players. This is a guy who has literally done it all at every level of the game. If he says something, you listen.
He has a great character, jovial yet knowledgeable. He knows his footy inside and out, but it seems to be his man management that comes across best while in camp.
No less than former NSW captain Paul Gallen said of Fittler's coaching in camp for City: "I would have run through a brick wall at the end of that week if he asked me to.'
Both he and current captain Boyd Corder have publicly supported the former Panthers and Roosters legend to take the reigns. Few embodied the spirit of NSW better than Gallen, and few embody it now more than Cordner.
As a world-class half, Fittler may finally unlock the secret to making Mitchell Pearce an Origin player, although to be fair he is only human.
All jokes aside though, surely Fittler is the man for the job. No one understands what it takes to win in the game's most fierce arena more than the man affectionately known as 'Freddy'. He has the support of the former and current NSW captains, and an incredible record at City/Country level.
With all due respect to the other candidates vying for the position, this is a race that has been run and won by Fittler. By a fair margin too.
Lebanon has two monster games coming up and Fittler's focus should purely be on those fixtures, but at the close of the World Cup tournament, surely it is now only a matter of time until the contract is delivered and he is announced as the New South Wales coach moving forward.
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