This week marks a half-century of celebrating NAIDOC Week and as a result, it’s appropriate that we reflect on the impact Indigenous players have had on rugby league over the past 50 years.
In partnership with the NRL, Nine.com.au is putting a spotlight on some incredible athletes.
Fans can vote on who they believe are the best Indigenous players of the past 50 years in both the men’s and women’s game.
In this piece, we’ve chosen to focus on the top Indigenous talent from the pre-NRL and NRLW era. Among them is an Immortal and plenty of premiership winners.
50 Years of Deadly
Arthur Beetson
Widely regarded as the best forward of the 20th century, ‘Artie’ is so far the only Indigenous player with Immortal status.
A skilful yet imposing front-rower who changed the way the toughest position on the field was played, Beetson emerged as one of Queensland’s best talents in the mid-1960s before moving to the Sydney competition to sign with Balmain.
But it was his move to Eastern Suburbs that truly catapulted Beetson to stardom, captaining the Roosters to back-to-back premierships in 1974-75.
He was also the pioneer for State of Origin as we know it, where he was the inaugural captain for the Maroons and helped launch the iconic format.
After retiring on the field, Beetson continued as a coach at club, state and international level throughout the 1980s.
Queensland icon Wally Lewis spoke candidly to nine.com.au about the time he shared with Beetson at the Origin level and what made him so special.
“He was a guy that inspired everybody in rugby league and he was the most skilful ball carrier I’ve ever seen,” Lewis said.
“When I came into the Origin team, I was a 21-year-old kid and I had the chance to play with a man that I’d watched on television, I was in absolute awe watching the brilliant skills that he displayed and also the way he taught those around him.
“When it came time for guys to play against him, they were always enormously fearful, but when I got the chance to play with him in that very first Origin game, I remember him teaching me more in the space of five or six days than I’d learnt from all of my previous coaches, and it was a thrill to benefit from him.”
Lewis also gave an insight into Beeton’s off-field personality.
“I honestly don’t ever recall somebody saying something in disrespect about Arthur and everybody had reverence for him,” the Immortal said.
“Everybody enjoyed his company and he had an ability to not just make them better footy players, but better people as well.
“Arthur was proudly Indigenous and he used to spend an enormous amount of time trying to inspire, as he called them, the champions of tomorrow - but he would always make sure there was a bit of amusement attached.
“He’d organise a touch footy game after Origin for us and he’d say ‘all the black fellas over here with me and all the white fellas over there’.
“It was just part of his personality to make sure everyone was accepted.
“The only time I didn’t enjoy being in Arthur’s company was at breakfast, lunch and dinner. He used to say ‘I see you’ve drawn the short straw’ ... but he always found a way to make every conversation an exciting one.”
More than 15 years on from his passing, Beetson’s impact is still felt to this day and he remains one of the most revered figures in the sport’s history.
Arthur Beetson - Immortal
Steve Ella
A four-time Parramatta premiership winner, the man they called ‘Zip Zip’ may not get the same recognition as some of his teammates from the 1980s dynasty period, but he was one of the most exciting and lethal stars of his generation.
Ella - a cousin of former Wallabies players Mark, Glen and Gary - was known for his electric speed and footwork in the 13-man code.
“He was one of the quickest players off the mark that I ever saw and his electric sidestep guaranteed that whoever he was coming up against would have some very difficult times ahead of them,” Lewis said.
Grand Finals Moments: 1982 Steve Ella Try
“He wasn’t the biggest bloke, but he had a real brilliance about him and the only time I didn’t like watching Steve play was when he had a NSW jumper on.”
During a career that spanned a decade with the Eels, the talented backline utility formed one of rugby league’s all-time great centre pairings with Mick Cronin.
In the representative arena, Ella managed a handful of appearances for the Kangaroos in a star-studded era, while representing NSW on seven occasions.
Steve Renouf
Bursting onto the scene with the Broncos as a teenager, Steve Renouf appeared destined for stardom from the moment he stepped into first grade.
“Wayne Bennett used to tell us all at the Broncos about this young kid who had blinding acceleration and evasive skills that few were blessed with,” Lewis said.
“As soon as he got an opportunity, he was absolutely freakish.”
Steve Renouf was pure poetry in motion
A member of the club’s back-to-back titles in the early-1990s, it was Renouf’s lightning speed that made him a nightmare for opposition defenders.
He became arguably the best centre of his generation and made 11 appearances at State of Origin level for the Maroons.
Renouf’s incredible career was capped off by a Hall of Fame induction in 2024.
Cliff Lyons
There are few players, if any, more synonymous with the proud Manly club than Cliff Lyons, who was one of the best ball-players of his time.
Despite spending some of his career at lock-forward, Lyons found a home in the five-eighth role under Bob Fulton that brought the Sea Eagles two premierships.
Lyons became the first Indigenous player to win the Dally M Medal in 1990, before claiming the competition’s top individual honour again in 1994.
Indigenous Inspirations: Cliff Lyons
He also represented NSW and Australia six times each at representative level.
His combination with the game’s greatest try-scoring forward, Steve Menzies proved a headache for defences and is still spoken about to this day.
Despite how much the game has changed, it’s quite often you hear his style and ability compared to the likes of Cody Walker, which is a testament to Lyons.
“His creative ability was just unmatched,” Lewis said.
“Cliffy was one of those guys who was a real inspiration to young Indigenous kids and really laid the foundation for guys like Johnathan Thurston after him.”
Katrina Fanning
A true pioneer, Katrina Fanning was one of the NRL’s inaugural Hall of Fame inductees from the women’s game in 2024 and is the only Indigenous female member of that elite club.
A tough front-rower from Junee who never took a backwards step, Fanning was part of the first-ever Jillaroos team in 1995 and played in two World Cups, going on to captain her country and featuring in 24 Test matches.
She has given back an enormous amount to the community post-playing and was named ACT’s Australian of the Year in 2020 for her work in education and health.
Fanning’s legacy will continue for years to come, with Canberra’s women’s premiership competition named in her honour.
2024 Hall of Fame Induction - Katrina Fanning
Full pre-NRL and NRLW era list
Men: Sam Backo, Arthur Beetson, Tony Currie, Laurie Daley, Steve Ella, Terry Fahey, John Ferguson, Cliff Lyons, Steve Renouf, Dale Shearer.
Women: Teresa Anderson, Katrina Fanning, Jenni-Sue Hoepper, Caryl Jarrett, Loretta O’Neill, Tracey Thompson.
