Sam Burgess has declared that teammate Cody Walker deserves to represent New South Wales in this year's State of Origin series.
The Souths five-eighth has enjoyed an impressive start to 2019 with his side sitting on top of the ladder, highlighted by a four-try haul against the Warriors last week.
And Burgess has likened Walker's Origin pursuit to Damien Cook's in 2018, who was an outside chance of receiving the call up before starring in the series.
"With Cody, I think we're all seeing the same thing,'' Burgess told The Sun-Herald.
"He's a special player. 'Freddy' [Brad Fittler] understands what he is doing, and he will make a good decision for NSW.
"I will always support Cody, I'm with him every day and I know what he does and what he brings.
"Cody in any team will be good. He's taken on more responsibility, he's really stepped up in terms of leadership, naturally he's a great communicator, he competes well, and they are all the attributes of a good player.''
Burgess lamented the Rabbitohs loss of Greg Inglis but said it was his time to step up as sole captain.
"I knew. We had a couple of chats, but basically all we did was be there for Greg as a friend,'' Burgess said.
"We weren't even there as a sounding board because he was the one who had to make the decision. It was a huge decision.
"I think Greg and his family and the club and the players have all handled it well.
"Of course we will miss him. He's Greg Inglis. But Kyle Turner has done a good job, we also have Adam Doueihi and Braidon Burns to come back.
"We'll miss Greg but we can't hang on to it, it's happened, we can't dwell. It's the NRL. It's relentless.
"Life without Greg has begun. He'll still have a presence around the place in some capacity.''