NRL to unveil two new Immortals, six new Hall of Fame inductees
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Rugby league's age-old Immortal debate just got juicier with the prospect of two additional Immortals being added to the game's most prestigious club in 2018.
NRL CEO Todd Greenberg confirmed the Immortals relaunching alongside modern day greats Wally Lewis, Mal Meninga and Darren Lockyer on Monday, with an induction to now be made every four years.
Meninga and Lockyer will be among many contenders for inclusion in the current eight-man Immortals group alongside the likes of St George icon Norm Provan, Roosters great Dally Messenger, legendary halfbacks Peter Sterling and Allan Langer, Ron Coote, Brad Fittler and record-breaking 1930s centre Dave Brown. The judging process will run up until an official vote in July.
The NRL is also revamping its Hall of Fame, with another six retired stars to be inducted alongside the inaugural 100 players first named as members during the 2008 Centenary Year celebrations.
Having now been officially brought under the NRL's banner, both the Immortals and Hall of Fame will have new eligibility criteria and structures outlined in a bid to add prestige and transparency around the game's highest awards.
"This is a significant occasion for our game as we celebrate the history of rugby league and recognise those who have shaped it," Greenberg said.
"Without question, one of the biggest topics in rugby league revolves around comparisons between heroes of our game… whether it's players from decades ago or those from the modern era.
"This year, we will induct an additional six players into a new NRL Hall of Fame.
"They will join the 100 Greats – named in our Centenary year 10 years ago – who gain automatic induction into the NRL Hall of Fame as the Charter Class.
"We will also relaunch the Immortals, with up to two players being given the ultimate honour in our game, every four years.
"And the first of those new Immortals will be chosen this year."
Hall of Fame & Immortals program explained
Under the NRL's new structure, a 'final five' players in contention for Immortal inclusion will be decided by May before the panel votes on the latest inductions.
The Immortals voting scope will also now cast all the way back to 1908, bringing the likes of Dally Messenger and Dave Brown into contention for the honour.
With six new Hall of Fame inductees to come mid-way through the year, a list of 25 contenders will be announced next month, with coaches, referees and contributors to the game also be recognised from 2019.
As with the Immortals, Hall of Fame inductees must be retired for five years before consideration, with a maximum of four players to be announced each year.
NRL Awards Manager Frank Puletua said the new recognition programs are a significant step in rugby league's celebration of its past and greatest individual achievements.
"With the inclusion of the Immortals, the NRL now has more than 30 official award categories in our game – ranging from those who reach 100 NRL games, through to our top tier awards such as the Dally M Medal, Hall of Fame and Immortals," Puletua said.
"A significant amount of work has been undertaken to ensure that our history and tradition continues to appropriately acknowledge milestones and pay tribute to the best of the best."
The NRL Hall of Fame charter class (includes debut match:
1 Billy Cann. New South Wales v New Zealand at Royal Agricultural Society Ground, Sydney, August 17, 1907
2 Tedda Courtney. New South Wales v New Zealand at Royal Agricultural Society Ground, Sydney, August 17, 1907
3 Dally Messenger. New South Wales v New Zealand at Royal Agricultural Society Ground, Sydney, August 17, 1907
4 Sandy Pearce. New South Wales v New Zealand at Royal Agricultural Society Ground, Sydney, August 17, 1907
5 Albert Rosenfeld. New South Wales v New Zealand at Royal Agricultural Society Ground, Sydney, August 17, 1907
6 Arthur Holloway. New South Wales v New Zealand at Royal Agricultural Society Ground, Sydney, August 21, 1907
7 Daniel Frawley. Eastern Suburbs v Newtown at Wentworth Park, Glebe, April 20, 1908
8 Howard Hallett. South Sydney v Balmain at Birchgrove Oval, April 24, 1909
9 Chris McKivat. Wallabies v Kangaroos at Royal Agricultural Society Ground, Sydney, September 4, 1909
10 Viv Farnsworth. Wallabies v Kangaroos at Royal Agricultural Society Ground, Sydney, September 11, 1909
11 Charles Fraser. Balmain v North Sydney at North Sydney Oval, August 13, 1910
12 Frank Burge. Glebe v Western Suburbs at Sydney Sports Ground, April 29, 1911
13 Les Cubitt. Glebe v Western Suburbs at Sydney Sports Ground, April 29, 1911
14 Herb Gillett. South Sydney v North Sydney at Sydney Sports Ground, April 29, 1911
15 Harold Horder. South Sydney v Glebe at Wentworth Park, Glebe, Sydney, August 24, 1912
16 Cecil Blinkhorn. North Sydney v South Sydney at North Sydney Oval, August 15, 1914
17 Duncan Thompson. Queensland v New South Wales at Royal Agricultural Society Ground, Sydney, June 5, 1915
18 Jim Craig. Balmain v North Sydney at Birchgrove Oval, August 14, 1915
19 Frank McMillan. Western Suburbs v Newtown at Pratten Park, Ashfield, April 23, 1921
20 Benny Wearing. South Sydney v Eastern Suburbs at Sydney Cricket Ground, April 30, 1921
21 Tom Gorman. Queensland Country v City at Davies Park, South Brisbane, May 28, 1921
22 Vic Armbruster. New South Wales v Queensland at Sydney Sports Ground, September 23, 1922
23 Eric Weissel. Combined Districts v England at Fisher Park, Cootamundra, May 27, 1924
24 Dan Dempsey. Toowoomba v England at Athletic Oval, Toowoomba, June 18, 1924
25 Herb Steinorht. Toowoomba v England at Athletic Oval, Toowoomba, June 18, 1924
26 Peter 'Mick' Madsen. Toowoomba v Brisbane at Exhibition Ground, Brisbane, May 2, 1925
27 George Treweek. South Sydney v Western Suburbs at Sydney Cricket Ground, May 30, 1926
28 Joe 'Chimpy' Busch. Eastern Suburbs v University at Royal Agricultural Society Ground, Sydney, April 21, 1928
29 Wally Prigg. Newcastle v England at Newcastle Sports Ground, July 11, 1928
30 Ray Stehr. Eastern Suburbs v University at Sydney Sports Ground, April 20, 1929
31 Joe Pearce. Eastern Suburbs v Western Suburbs at Pratten Park, Ashfield, June 29, 1929
32 Dave Brown. Eastern Suburbs v St George at Earl Park, Arncliffe, August 9, 1930
33 Ernie Norman. Eastern Suburbs v University at Sydney Sports Ground, April 25, 1931
34 Viv Thicknesse. Eastern Suburbs v North Sydney at North Sydney Oval, April 16, 1932
35 Vic Hey. Western Suburbs v University at Pratten Park, Ashfield, April 25, 1933
36 Jack Beaton. Eastern Suburbs v South Sydney at Sydney Sports Ground, April 25, 1934
37Andy Norval. Eastern Suburbs v South Sydney at Sydney Sports Ground, April 25, 1934
38 Herb Narvo. Country Firsts v City Firsts at Sydney Cricket Ground, May 9, 1936
39 Brian Bevan. Eastern Suburbs v South Sydney at Sydney Sports Ground, May 2, 1942
40 Harry Bath. Southern Suburbs v Past Brothers at Oxenham Park, Nundah, June 13, 1942
41 Arthur Clues. Western Suburbs v Balmain at Leichhardt Oval, April 24, 1943
42 Roy Bull. Manly v South Sydney at Sydney Sports Ground, April 26, 1947
43 Clive Churchill. Country Seconds v City Seconds at Sydney Cricket Ground, May 8, 1947
44 Duncan Hall. Brisbane v Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) at Brisbane Exhibition Ground, March 29, 1948
45 Keith Holman. Western Suburbs v Eastern Suburbs at Pratten Park, Ashfield, June 26, 1948
46 Ken Kearney. Leeds v Bramley at Headingley, Leeds, August 21, 1948
47 Brian Davies. Brothers v Valleys at Oxenham Park, Nundah, April 2, 1949
48 Norm Provan. St George v Manly Warringah at Kogarah Oval, April 7, 1951
49 Harry Wells. South Sydney v Western Suburbs at Sydney Cricket Ground, April 28, 1951
50 Brian Carlson. Newcastle v France at No. 1 Sports Ground, Newcastle, May 26, 1951
51 Ian Walsh. Western Division v France at Spooner Oval, Forbes, May 30, 1951
52 Kel O'Shea. North Queensland v New Zealand at Townsville Sports Reserve, June 22, 1952
53 Brian Clay. Newtown v Parramatta at Erskineville Oval, August 22, 1953
54 Keith Barnes. Country Seconds v City Seconds at Sydney Cricket Ground, May 8, 1954
55 Eddie Lumsden. Manly Warringah v Balmain at Leichhardt Oval, April 2, 1955
56 Brian Hambly. South Sydney v North Sydney at Redfern Oval, May 27, 1956
57 Peter Gallagher. Brothers, April 6, 1957
58 Johnny Raper. Newtown v Manly Warringah at Henson Park, April 6, 1957
59 Noel Kelly. Ipswich v Toowoomba at Athletic Oval, Toowoomba, April 27, 1957
60 Barry Muir. Western Suburbs v Northern Suburbs at Oxenham Park, Nundah, April 13, 1958
61 Ken Irvine. North Sydney v Parramatta at North Sydney Oval, June 28, 1958
62 Reg Gasnier. St George v Canterbury-Bankstown at Belmore Oval, April 11, 1959
63 Ken Thornett. Leeds v Batley at Headingley, Leeds, March 19, 1960
64 Arthur Summons. Western Suburbs v North Sydney at Pratten Park, Ashfield, May 7, 1960
65 Johnny King. St George v Newtown at Kogarah Jubilee Oval, July 24, 1960
66 Les Johns. Country Seconds v City Seconds at Sydney Cricket Ground, June 3, 1961
67 Billy Smith. St George v Manly at Sydney Sports Ground, July 16, 1961
68 Graeme Langlands. Country Firsts v City Firsts at Sydney Cricket Ground, May 12, 1962
69 John Sattler. Newcastle v Great Britain at No 1. Sports Ground, Newcastle, June 4, 1962
70 Bob McCarthy. South Sydney v Canterbury Bankstown at Belmore Oval, April 6, 1963
71 Ron Coote. South Sydney v Balmain at Redfern Oval, March 12, 1964
72 Arthur Beetson. Redcliffe v Northern Suburbs at Lang Park, Brisbane, April 5, 1964
73 John O'Neill. Northern Division v France at Rugby League Park, Armidale, July 12, 1964
74 Bob Fulton. Country Seconds v City Seconds at Sydney Cricket Ground, May 22, 1965
75 Tom Raudonikis. Western Suburbs v St George at Lidcombe Oval, July 19, 1969
76 Michael Cronin. Southern NSW v Great Britain at Wollongong Showground, July 5, 1970
77 Graham Eadie. Manly Warringah v Western Suburbs at Pratten Park, Ashfield, May 29, 1971
78 Steve Rogers. Cronulla-Sutherland v South Sydney at Endeavour Field, Woolooware, April 8, 1973
79 Steve Mortimer. Riverina v Canterbury-Bankstown at Eric Weissel Oval, Wagga, April 23, 1975
80 Ray Price. Parramatta v Balmain at Cumberland Oval, Parramatta, February 28, 1976
81 Mal Meninga. Southern Suburbs v Brothers at Davies Park, South Brisbane, February 18, 1978
82 Kerry Boustead. North Queensland v Gold Coast at Owen Park, Southport, March 29, 1978
83. Wally Lewis. Valleys v Northern Suburbs at Neumann Oval, Albion, April 9, 1978
84 Peter Sterling. Parramatta v St George at Cumberland Oval, July 23, 1978
85 Eric Grothe Sr. Parramatta v Balmain at Leichhardt Oval, March 3, 1979
86 Wayne Pearce. Balmain v North Sydney at Leichhardt Oval, March 1, 1980
87 Terry Lamb. Western Suburbs v Balmain at Lidcombe Oval, May 18, 1980
88 Brett Kenny. Parramatta v South Sydney at Redfern Oval, June 15, 1980
89 Gene Miles. Wynnum-Manly v Northern Suburbs at Bishop Park, Nundah, March 1, 1981
90 Steve Roach. Balmain v Canberra at Leichhardt Oval, May 9, 1982
91 Andrew Ettinghausen. Cronulla-Sutherland v Newtown at Orana Park, Campbelltown, March 27, 1983
92 Steve Walters. Northern Suburbs v Redcliffe at Bishop Park, Nundah, May 27, 1984
93 Allan Langer. Ipswich v Valleys at Neumann Oval, Albion, March 2, 1986
94 Laurie Daley. Canberra v Cronulla-Sutherland at Endeavour Field, Woolooware, May 31, 1987
95 Glenn Lazarus. Canberra v Western Suburbs at Orana Park, Campbelltown, July 26, 1987
96 Bradley Clyde. Canberra v Western Suburbs at Orana Park, Campbelltown, May 1, 1988
97 Brad Fittler. Penrith v Western Suburbs at Orana Park, Campbelltown, August 20, 1989
98 Andrew Johns. Newcastle v Gold Coast at Seagulls Stadium, Tweed Heads, April 17, 1993
99 Shane Webcke. Brisbane v North Sydney at North Sydney Oval, May 19, 1995
100 Darren Lockyer. Brisbane v Parramatta at Parramatta Stadium, June 25, 1995
