Stats show he's the NRL's best fullback, and Andrew Johns agrees. A Test call-up can't be far off, writes Will Swanton.

The darkest days for Billy Slater were in 2006 when he kicked John Skandalis in the head and spear-tackled Ryan Cross en route to being suspended for 11 matches.

His reputation was in tatters and Storm coach Craig Bellamy demoted him to the boondocks of Premier League with the North Sydney Bears. One of the Bears' no-names asked Slater for his autograph and that's when he knew he had to clean up his act and get back where he belonged.

He's done it.

Andrew Johns now rates him the best player in the NRL, and after his blinder for Melbourne against Manly on Friday night, when he won his head-to-head showdown with incumbent Australian fullback Brett Stewart by a knockout, he's on the verge of a Test debut less than two years after his career was on skid row.

"There was a little period there that I'd probably like to wipe away from my memory," Slater told The Sun-Herald yesterday.

"I ended up getting suspended three times that year. It's the only time I've ever been suspended in my whole career, over 5 years, and it hit me head-on. It hit me hard. It was frustrating and a bit embarrassing, but all you can do is try to move on.

"I don't think it was what you would call part of my game, but it just kept happening. Three suspensions from three games, more or less - I just had to get back into playing football.

"I sat out for about seven weeks to start with and I was on the bench in my next game back. I only got a run with about 20 minutes to go against the Roosters and I ended up putting Ryan Cross past the horizontal. I was just trying to get into the game because I'd been out for so long. I was just being over-eager, I think.

"It was a tough time but I've taken a lot out of that period of my career and my life. I'm a better player and a better person because of it."

Slater was unstoppable against Manly. He could not have slammed his fist on the Test selectors' table with any more authority. He scored two tries to Stewart's none. Made 200 metres to Stewart's 134. Three line-breaks to nil. Afterwards, sitting in the wreckage of the Manly dressing room, Stewart said of the battle for the Australian No.1 jumper: "Hopefully selectors will look at more than one game."

The picture still ain't pretty for Stewart. Slater hasn't worn a representative jumper for two years - Karmichael Hunt took his place for Queensland in 2006 and kept it last year - but he's without peer in a Sportsdata investigation of NRL custodians since the beginning of last season.

Sportsdata took into account every try, line break, line-break assist, metre gained, tackle made, missed and broken, every bomb defused and more. North Queensland livewire Matt Bowen was second with Stewart a relatively distant third.

Melbourne held a recovery session yesterday morning and it didn't take long for Slater to be told that Andrew Johns had used his Channel Nine commentary duties to elevate Slater past Johnathan Thurston as the most consistent and damaging player in the premiership.

"You hear about that stuff and obviously it's great to hear," Slater said. "It's a lot better than hearing negative things ... For someone like Andrew Johns, who only last year was the best player in the world, to say those sort of things about you, it's important not to get too comfortable with those sorts of comments.

"If I start thinking that, maybe I'll start sitting back and letting a few things slip by that I normally wouldn't overlook. If you stop working as hard, that's when you start coming unstuck and not playing as well. It's important for me to do the things that are going to help my teammates. That's what matters the most to me."

Slater's bans were of seven matches for his attack on Skandalis, two for his tackle on Cross and, after his stint with Norths, another two for a late elbow on the Tigers' Shannon McDonnell. He was devastated to be regarded as a dirty player and even more aghast to have let down the Storm.

"The team comes first to me - and that probably helps me individually anyway," Slater said.

"Everyone down here is like that. If you don't put the team first, you probably won't get in the side. I try to put all the representative stuff out of my mind. You start thinking about that too much, and you'll start playing a little bit selfishly. I'll leave all that stuff up to you guys to talk about. I'll just stick with playing footy."

Told he isn't human if he doesn't at least consider the possibility of a Test debut, he replies: "Yeah, it's there - it is there. It's hard to get away from it. I try hard not to think about it. I put it as far back in my mind as I can, but it's hard to ignore it when people keep reminding you about it. We've still got a couple of games to go before they pick the side. If I start thinking about it too much, it'll do my head in. I'll take my mind off the job and I can't afford to do that.

"Ever since I've been playing fullback there are probably 10 players you could throw in every rep side and they'd do the job. I don't think about the other fullbacks too much because we rarely come into contact on the field. I think more about the kickers and what their patterns are. But there are so many good fullbacks around, it spurs you on to improve."

Slater was a halfback as a kid.

"I didn't play fullback until I played State League in Queensland," he said. "I was always a halfback or five-eighth. I was always a small kid. [Storm halfback] Cooper Cronk was the fullback in front of me.

"I always looked up to Alfie Langer because he was small like me and played halfback. I would never have thought of playing fullback as a kid but when I came down to Melbourne, Robbie Ross got injured and I started at fullback in my first game.

"I've probably played a handful of times at wing and centre but I love the role now, the freedom of it. I can't imagine playing anywhere else. I won't be going back to halfback. There's too much tackling up in that front line. I'll leave that up to Coops."

Slater looks quick, as if he could run the 100m at the Olympics, but Cronk beat him over 20 metres the last time they were timed. Slater reckons he runs out of puff and starts looking around for Greg Inglis after 30. Slater and Inglis work in tandem for the Storm, but wait until the Centenary Test on May 9, and they'll be joining forces for their country.