Johnathan Thurston has paid Cameron Smith the ultimate compliment, labelling him "the best player" he's ever played with.
The injured representative superstar was in Melbourne this week to see Smith break Darren Lockyer's all-time record for the most NRL games, when he notched up his 356th against Parramatta.
Thurston, who has played 38 Tests for Australia and 37 State of Origins for Queensland since his representative debut in 2005, has played alongside the likes of immortal Andrew Johns and Lockyer.
But he said Smith was now No.1 in his view.
"In my eyes he's the best I've played alongside," Thurston told the Nine Network.
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"I got to play alongside Locky and I always viewed him as the best in my eyes. But the last five or six years, the way Smithy has been playing he is now the best."
Thurston and Smith have played in 36 Origin matches together, for 23 wins.
Together they have formed the key combination to the Maroons' 11 series victories in 12 years, while have lost just two of the 36 Tests they have played together for Australia.
Smith is also the greatest match winner in NRL history, with 252 wins to his name at a strike rate of over 70 per cent.
The 34-year-old's dominance over the code is likely to be rammed home this month.
He stands a chance to claim both the Players' Player award at the Rugby League Players Association awards night on Tuesday, and is favourite to clinch the Dally M medal in a fortnight.
Smith could also win a fourth premiership as captain, with Melbourne just one win away from another grand final.
Meanwhile, rugby league legend Brad Fittler said it was Smith's smart approach to the game which made him the best in the business.
"I think we have gone through an era where the referees and the way they adjudicate a game, if you are smart enough you can adapt to their terminology of the rules," Fittler said.
"Cameron Smith has done that better than anyone by a long way. He is the smartest without doubt I have ever seen and obviously the most influential."
