Melbourne Storm fullback Billy Slater will leave a legacy sure to stand the test of time when he steps away from the NRL at the end of the season.

Slater's tally of 187 tries second to only Ken Irvine in the NRL's try-scoring records, however, the Queenslander ranks as number one compared to his fellow fullbacks with 181 in the No.1 jersey.

The ex-Kangaroo and Maroons champion burst on the scene as an attacking machine in 2003 but later added a play-making dimension to his game. Those skills are now expected from first-grade fullbacks.

And as he became physically stronger, Slater learned how to offload and break tackles, along with honing his speed that served him so well even late into his career.

In terms of building points-scoring opportunities, Slater has created 168 try-assists in 313 appearances, to go with 164 line break assists.

He's also broken a total of 1262 tackles, an average of four per game, and 250 line breaks, the only fullback to make this many.

Then there's his performances returning the ball and running the football.

Slater ranks the top fullback in NRL history for all runs (4091), all run metres (almost 40,000) and kick return metres (close to 18,000).

These statistics show how the Storm custodian has truly changed what it takes to be a fullback in professional rugby league - and what an act the likes of Kalyn Ponga or Valentine Holmes will get measured against.