Canterbury Bulldogs director of football Phil Gould has anointed Brad Fittler as the man he would select as the next rugby league Immortal.
Immortal status is reserved for those who have risen to the top of the game over the years, with only 13 players handed the honour.
They include John Raper, Reg Gasnier, Graeme Langlands and Norm Provan from the St George Dragons team who won 11 straight premierships, Dally Messenger, who has the game's highest individual honour named after him, Clive Churchill, Bob Fulton, Wally Lewis, Arthur Beetson, Frank Burge, Dave Brown, Mal Meninga and Andrew Johns.
Gould, who has been around the years and served as a player, coach, administrator and in the media, said Fittler's record was extraordinary when speaking on Wide World of Sports.
“I think he’s in the Immortal status,” Gould said.
“It’s a conversation that needs to be had a lot more.
“Fittler’s record is extraordinary when you put up the numbers he achieved and the things he did, it’s quite extraordinary.
“He played 16 years and he played something like 426 first class fixtures – NRL, State of Origin, Australian test matches.”
Gould also spent time coaching Fittler, who played 336 NRL games and 31 State of Origins, while also winning the NRL premiership twice and captaining Australia on 25 occasions.
Fittler now also coaches New South Wales and has won three of the last four series in charge.
“With the personal performances that he put in and the performances of his team, performances for NSW and Australia,” Gould said.
