Cody Walker's attacking exploits will go down in history with the Rabbitoh already shattering the mark for the most line-break assists on record in a regular season.
According to NRL.com Stats data, which stretches back to 1999 for try assists and 2002 for line break assists, Walker is enjoying a playmaking campaign that ranks alongside the greatest of all time.
His 40 line break assists in 20 matches this year have eclipsed the previous NRL-era peak of 35 set by Immortal Knights halfback Andrew Johns in the same number of games in 2006.
And with three rounds to go, the South Sydney five-eighth has a shot at overhauling the record of 38 try assists in a regular season achieved by Eels playmaker Tim Smith in his rookie year of 2005.
Walker has racked up 31 try assists, many of those down the left edge where the Rabbitohs are so dangerous.
Remarkably, 23 of his try assists have come in the past 10 rounds - including five trebles - coinciding with South Sydney's longest winning streak since 1989.
The Indigenous All Stars ace also caught fire in the latter stages of 2020 when he tallied 18 try assists from as many regular-season appearances.
While the expansion of the six-again infringement rule has aided attacking dynamos like Walker, his club and state teammate Damien Cook believes he is one of many crucial cogs in a well-oiled machine.
"I think he's just doing his job. I think he's just consistently doing it and picking the right options in attack," Cook said.
"He's doing that well and we're giving him enough shots to do that. He's executing really well. The likes of himself and Latrell [Mitchell] are just finishing off the great shape on the inside.
"Reyno [Adam Reynolds] has got to get a lot of credit for what's happening out on the wings as well. Obviously, there has been a lot of points out there, but he's done a lot of work on the inside as well.
"Cody and Latrell, the way they're just finishing off those set plays, it's been outstanding this year and he's getting the rewards for it."
Talk has picked up in recent weeks that Walker's hot form could culminate in him pipping Sea Eagles fullback Tom Trbojevic and Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary in the Dally M Medal race.
Trbojevic has arguably been more individually dominant while Cleary had accumulated 21 votes to sit comfortably atop the leaderboard when voting went behind closed doors after round 12.
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Walker was on eight points at that stage and Trbojevic, after missing the first five rounds with a hamstring injury, sat on 15.
However, Cleary and Trbojevic have each only played 13 Telstra Premiership matches in 2021 whereas Walker has missed just one game, perhaps giving him enough of an edge to claim the prize.
"Turbo's obviously been a big favourite, but he missed a few games at the start of the year," Cook said leading into Saturday's clash with Cleary's Penrith, who thumped the Rabbitohs 56-12 in round 11.
Walker into space and Burns is over
"I think Cody's been quite consistent all year. He's been outstanding the last 10 games and we've won the last 10 games as well, so there are probably some big [Dally M] points there.
"I'd love him to go and win the Dally M, for sure."
Injuries may have prevented Trbojevic from challenging for the try assist and line-break assist records. The superstar custodian is Walker's nearest competitor in both categories, racking up 25 try assists (1.92 per game) and 34 line break assists (2.61 per game).
The pair are a cut above. Manly No.7 Daly Cherry-Evans ranks behind them for try assists (19) while Storm playmaker Nicho Hynes is third for line break assists (26) - the seventh-most of the NRL era.
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Not just content with setting up others, Walker has also scored 12 tries - more than any other full-time half (though he did cross for a double playing at fullback against Cronulla in round 10).
The 31-year-old is often compared to another champion Indigenous five-eighth in Cliff Lyons and NRL.com expert Steve Renouf said earlier this month that he can see the similarities between the two.
"[Walker] just has the freakish nature of getting balls to people. You ask someone like Beaver Menzies, he benefitted off guys like Cliffy putting him into holes," the Broncos legend said.
"Walker does the same. He's such a creative player and he plays off the cuff sometimes. Very instinctive and knows what he's doing."
South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett gave Walker the ultimate praise before he recorded three try assists against the Titans last round.
"I was laying there thinking about a few things about football, I thought my best ever team - who would it be, who would I put in it?" Bennett said in a pre-match interview with Fox League.
The left edge clicks into gear for South Sydney
"I got to him [Walker] and I'm thinking, 'Wow, this guy's got to be in this team somewhere'.
"When I first went to South Sydney I just didn't realise how much skill he had. I hope I've helped that over the last couple of years, encouraging him to do things.
"But he's up there with the best players I've coached."
