We asked you to vote on the Canberra GOAT. After 4000 entries, the results are in

A rugby league Immortal who packed his bags and left Brisbane's southern suburbs club - all while people wondered why on earth he'd come down here - has been crowned Canberra's greatest of all time.

Pictures of Mal Meninga in a lime green jersey with a Canberra Milk logo slapped across the front are among the lasting images of a Raiders golden era - even if the memory of that intercept try in the 1994 decider is getting a little hazy.

Ask him about it in Brisbane this weekend, where the Raiders are celebrating 30 years since their last premiership, and he'll tell you "I got it on the try line and ran the whole way."

It seems fitting Meninga - a Queensland legend and the only man in history to go on four Kangaroo tours - has won the GOAT vote to be crowned Canberra's greatest footballer after an all-star cast of Raiders and ACT Brumbies went head-to-head.

More than 3600 people had their say with Meninga polling 55 per cent of the vote in the decider to beat former Brumbies scrumhalf George Gregan. It was a grandstand finish in more ways than one - and if you're not sure how, glance at the signs on top of the Canberra Stadium stands when you arrive on Saturday.

Meninga toppled Steve Walters, Laurie Daley and then Ricky Stuart on the Raiders' side of the bracket, which also included Brett Mullins, David Furner, Bradley Clyde and Steve Walters.

For those counting, that's eight Raiders hall of famers with six Dally M and Clive Churchill medals among them. Some list.

Big Mal was their leader. Walters could glance at him inside a change room and feel virtually assured of success. Just knowing he was on the park had Stuart brimming with confidence.

"I think the club did a great job. I do reflect on it because you learned lessons from that. The club did a great job under 'Sheensy' [coach Tim Sheens]," Meninga said.

"He came to the club in '88, we'd made the final in '87 and under his guidance we had a great run as well.

"The team was torn apart a little bit by the salary cap in '91 and '92 and he helped rebuild it with the Kiwi guys, Noa Nadruku, and a whole heap of young kids like Mullins, Furner, [Jason] Croker, and [Brett] Hetherington. We turned it around really quickly and successfully. You learn lessons from all that.

"It was a great era. I often say, if you look at the team itself, all of those guys were rep players. It was a team that had great players."

Among them was Stuart, the man now tasked with reviving a Raiders golden era after re-signing as coach until the end of 2029.

"Ricky's brought that history, which is great. It gives us old fellas something to hang your hats on all the time," Meninga said.

"We have a reunion every year and through that connection we're always Raiders supporters. Ricky's done a terrific job and his footy team is always competitive."

But even Ricky had to settle for a semi-final exit in the search to find Canberra's greatest. Instead, it was Gregan cheekily asking how it feels to be the second best halfback the city has ever produced.

Gregan beat Stirling Mortlock, Joe Roff and then Stephen Larkham - who "grew up watching the Raiders" - on his way to the final in a Brumbies bracket also including George Smith, Matt Giteau, Jeremy Paul and Owen Finegan.

Many of those star-studded names will be at Canberra Stadium on Saturday to see Larkham's modern version of the Brumbies face the Crusaders on the road to the Super Rugby Pacific finals.

A glance around that box in the Meninga Stand would be enough to make any rugby tragic's head spin.

"It's quite remarkable when you think about it, right? George Gregan, Stephen Larkham, George Smith - three of the greatest players in the world, in rugby, of all-time," Paul said.

"You get to play with some special players in terms of the Wallabies and over your time, and I was lucky over a 10-year span. To think you get to play with once-in-a-lifetime players is pretty remarkable.

"I personally believe George Smith is the greatest player to ever play for Australia, personally, that's my opinion. He's easily the most consistent, he was top three among both sides, every game. He won nine out of 10 Brumbies players' player awards [from 2001 to 2010] with all those players. It just shows what sort of player he was."

And the sort of golden eras Canberra fans have witnessed.