The Canberra Raiders' recruitment and high performance director died on Thursday following a long battle with illness.

Mulholland is regarded as one of the finest recruiters rugby league has ever seen - it was in that space he made his mark in a long career.

He was the first head coach of the Western Reds in 1995, before coaching Paris Saint-Germain in France for one season in 1997 before returning to Australia.

Mulholland's passion for developing emerging talent saw him work with several NRL clubs - Canterbury, Penrith, Newcastle and Canberra - over his distinguished career to identify the code's most promising prospects.

MORE SPORT:

Raiders chief executive Don Furner said Mulholland would leave a legacy in Canberra that would be remembered forever.

"The game has lost one of its greatest characters and we send our deepest sympathies to his wife Mel, his sons Heath and Ned and the entire Mulholland family at this very sad time," Furner said.

"Peter Mulholland was one of the most-loved and respected people in rugby league and there will be many wonderful stories and memories shared about him over the coming weeks.

"He was instrumental in turning around our club's fortunes and helping us make the grand final with some of his astute and targeted recruitment.

"Pete's love of rugby league and his passion for what he did is what made him such a unique and respected person in our game, and I know we will all be poorer for his passing.

"His time at the Raiders only makes up a very small portion of his rugby league career, but we will be forever indebted to what he brought to our club and what he was able to help us achieve during this time.

"On behalf of all Raiders staff, players, coaches, families, members and fans we once again pass on our condolences to the Mulholland family and let them know he will never be forgotten by the Canberra Raiders."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: