I would like to heartily congratulate Andrew Johns on being the eighth player added to the list of rugby league Immortals.
The Immortals is a concept which was founded in 1981 by Rugby League Week magazine, as there was no Hall of Fame for rugby league at the time. The Immortals has no ‘official’ tag, nor is it affiliated in any way with the game’s administration at any level.
With that said, it’s quite remarkable that the Immortals holds such high standing in the game.
While there was no Hall of Fame when it began, that changed in 2002 when one was established by the ARL. It immediately drew comparisons with the Immortals concept as the original inductees were the six Immortals at the time – Clive Churchill, Reg Gasnier, Johnny Raper, Graeme Langlands, Bob Fulton and Wally Lewis.
For each year following, a spate of legendary league players were added, until there was a total of 30 inductees by 2007. Further additions were halted by celebrations and events surrounding the centenary of the game in Australia.
This culminated with the naming of both the Australian Team of the Century and the Greatest 100 Australian Players of the Century.
By this time, a seventh Immortal had also been added, Arthur Beetson.
By the end of the centenary year, rugby league in Australia had seven Immortals, 30 Hall-of-Famers, 17 players and a coach in the Team of the Century, and a further 100 legends in the Greatest 100 Players list.
All seven Immortals were present in all lists, although two of them (Bob Fulton and Graeme Langlands) could only make the bench in the Team of the Century.
Despite being limited to an exclusive size of 18 with the Hall of Fame consisting of 30 members to date, Andrew Johns, Noel Kelly and Jack Gibson hold the distinction of being the only three members of the Team of the Century who aren’t in the Hall of Fame.
The exclusion of Jack Gibson is understandable as the Hall of Fame does not yet include individuals who aren’t selected as players – i.e. legendary referees, coaches and administrators.
Andrew Johns’ exclusion can also be put down to the fact that he only retired in 2007, and the Hall of Fame requires that a player has been retired for five years before gaining entry – not possible in 2008.
This probably throws into question either the inclusion of Noel Kelly in the Team of the Century, or his exclusion from the Hall of Fame to date. However, the exclusion problem can easily be rectified in all three cases by simply updating the Hall of Fame list.
With all that said, the plethora of ‘best player’ lists, with all their inconsistencies, has been further thrown into disarray with the naming of Johns as the eighth Immortal.
Being an award concocted by the media for the media, the brains trust behind the naming of an eighth Immortal would have cared little that the game’s governing body has left the Hall of Fame to gather dust since the centenary celebrations in 2008.
It has been mooted previously that the NSWRL/ARL/NRL/ARLC would like to grant the Immortals concept some degree of official recognition.
However it would not be easy to pry the name from the grasp of Rugby League Week’s publisher ACP, who no doubt regard the award and its high standing in the game as a good way to sell magazines.
What further complicates the issue is the naming of Johns in the Immortals list. While he has already stated that he feels like the game of rugby league has forgiven him after being named in the Team of the Century, one would expect entry into an officially recognised Hall of Fame to be a tougher prospect.
The majority of sports with a well-established Hall of Fame include administrators, officials and coaches. With that said it is clearly going to take more than just playing ability to get in.
When judged on playing ability alone, Andrew Johns is unquestionably qualified to make the cut of most top-five lists. However, his off-field indiscretions cast a huge shadow over his status as a potential Hall-of-Famer, which should be made up of individuals who had the greatest possible positive impact on the game.
They must be high achievers in the sport, and well respected in the community.
Andrew Johns falls well short on the latter point. Following his retirement, he was caught in possession of a banned substance, and subsequently revealed a long history of drug abuse which was covered up throughout his career.
He was also once suspended for verbally abusing a referee, shunned a presentation of the game ball by former player Jason Taylor after breaking his pointscoring record, and left the NSW coaching staff following racist remarks he made during a training session.
In short, it would not be a good look for rugby league if he was not only validated, but celebrated for his contribution to the game with entry into the Hall of Fame.
The Immortals concept has always clearly stated that it is judged purely on playing ability, so it cannot be questioned.
However a Hall of Fame means so much more. The balance of achievement by an individual, whether they were a player, coach, referee or administrator, as well as their contributions to the community, must be addressed.
To stand alongside greats such as Arthur Beetson and Mal Meninga, after it was claimed by former teammate Timana Tahu that Johns had a history of making racist comments, would throw the rugby league Hall of Fame into complete disrepute, especially when you look at the positive impact on the community the likes of Beetson and Meninga have made both during their playing career and after.
If the ARLC indeed want to bring the Immortals ‘in-house’ and integrate it with their existing Hall of Fame – which is clearly in need of a revival and revision – they will now have the sore point of Andrew Johns to contend with.
For now, the line in the sand has clearly been drawn. Before last night, the Immortals and Hall of Fame went well together.
Now they are looking a bit like the awards’ equivalent of the Super League split.
Storm Boy
Guest
On twitter it says apparently there was a large meeting last night at NRL in Sydney where the ARL's hall of fame was brought back to life. Anyone hear anything about that? They should just buy the Immortals name off League Week.
Bryan Payne
Guest
Taking only Andrew Johns' playing career into account and not even considering the other stuff, there is absolutely no justification for his inclusion in RLW's Immortals list. Andrew copied most of his so-called revolutionary plays from Allan Langer, albeit improving on some of them, played reasonably well at club level, had 3 or 4 good games at State level and played a large proportion of his Test matches as a reserve or hooker. Hardly "Immortal". I'm old enough to remember when Bobby Fulton was included in the original list instead of Graeme Langlands to add a bit of relevance to the younger readers of RLW, but at least Bozo's playing record is unquestionable, as is his overall contribution to the game including coaching and selecting plus revolutionising (along with Ron Coote) the way league players prepared themselves. So I have no problem with his inclusion, just the timing was wrong. This is similar, but Andrew is another case altogether. His playing record isn't good enough to match the remainder of those on the list, let alone those of Mal Meninga or Norm Provan, who are both far better credentialled. I myself would have included them both (with apologies to Ron Coote). Unfortunately I believe this selection has forever tainted the whole concept.
Greg - OTFN
Guest
Andrew Johns is a self confessed Drug Cheat. He has done the crime and hasn't done the time. How can anyone judge if he played well or not, when he freely admits he was off his face. Makes a mockery of the other immortals I reckon. And all the softies say poor bugger he was depressed. He was on freaking illegalal drugs is what he was. Artie Beetson must be turning over in his Grave. Now he was an immortal. And dont tell me that what happens off the field stays off the field. He took drugs whilst he was playing. He is a cheat, not an immortal.
Matt
Guest
@josh Re: QLD seceding from Aus. Funniest comment i've read in ages. Queenslanders in general are very passionate about QLD to the detriment of their state, not just in Rugby League but in business also. People from Vic, ACT, NSW tend to think of themselves as Aussies first and foremost.
Steve
Guest
Steve
Guest
Take it easy Peeeko; judging from his spelling, daniel would struggle reading the 4 X's on his beer can- you can hardly blame him for getting titles mixed up.
Mick
Guest
What a load of rubbish - it's a list. There are lots of lists in sport. This is one of them. No one has had as significant an impact on games he's played in at any level - club, origin, international - since Wally Lewis as Andrew Johns. His all-round skill set is second to none. His off-field misdemeanors are minor - saying something stupid or doing something stupid that has no relevance to his status as a rugby league player, and it's only righteous blowhards or one-eyed gooses who just want their own team's players on lists who believe otherwise.
Dayer
Guest
very funny ... thet extra money you get is to help you pay higher bills.
Dayer
Guest
to early to be nominated in front of the other legends ..... bad decision.
Dayer
Guest
I agree, terrible decision, nowhere he should have being selected (seems like a conspiracy by some NSW blokes) he is a very good player but it is not his time yet, maybe 15 to 20 years time but not now.
dogforlife
Guest
It was a stitch up for sure. I have been around long enough to see first hand how the NSWRL (read NRL) use QLD for the benefit of themselves and then sink the knife in and twist it. Holding the game back from being truly national to keep noses in the trough. Oikee is right is has gone on long enough. Until such time as the $%#&wits in NSW draw their last breaths the game will not go anywhere. I now prefer to support the ISC over the NRL and will attend more games at Kougari than Suncorp. I will still back the dogs when I watch them play on TV but NSWRL can stick it up where the sun doesnt shine and die a long slow death. GO THE SEAGULLS!!!!! WYYYYYYYYYNUUMMM!!
oikee
Guest
You lot keep shooting the messenger. I am just repeating what the courier mail women were writing on the blog, i think it got over 450 posts. These are not my thoughts, i dont know why you guys think i have a problem with Joey. As i posted above, never have i said he is not deserving of Immortal status, all i have said is Norm and Mal should have been before him. Now, stay out of the pubs boys, and the grassroots should be ok, the ladies who posted were very angry. I am the messenger. Calm down, keyboard warriors. :)
Steve
Guest
Oikee does have a point: if there is one aspect of Australian culture that represents all that is highbrow, noble and beyond reproach and vulgarity, it is Rugby League. Women have long looked to League players and fans as paragons of chivalry, even courtly love.The idea of alcohol or substance abuse has never, to my knowledge, even encroached upon the game. And now, it has all been blackened: dragged through the mud, by the inclusion of this, this,.........bogan (forgive me for even broaching the term.) What must clean living avatars of purity and righteousness like Wally Lewis and Johnny Raper think?
Steve
Guest
This is getting silly Bazza: 'immortal' also means the person can't die: I suppose you'll be mounting a campaign to strip the deceased 'immortals' of their titles as well. Please stop misunderstanding the dictionary: you're confirming all sorts of stereotypes about League fans!
Steve
Guest
It also means 'incapable of physically dying'. I'll let readers try to spot the problem with that one.
Steve
Guest
Well 'incorruptible' in the sense of 'not decaying after death', like Edward the Confessor. I'm not sure that's entirely relevant here.
Roy
Guest
Get a grip Bazza. Maybe the judging panel consulted the relevant evaluation criteria rather than the "Concise Oxford Dictionary 9th edition 1995". Seriously mate, you're grasping at straws.
Roy
Guest
Immortal is just a grand title. There is a reasonably specific criteria for the judges to consider in casting their vote. Incorruptibility is not one of those criteria. On-field performance is one of those criteria. How hard is this for people to comprehend?
Danno1
Guest
So true Janice, when I see Johns I only see a drug cheat, same as when I see Wally I only ever see the Wally Golly Guard and a man who constantly abused referees. When I see Mal I only think of a revenge filled coach. I guess it is all to do with perspective. Hope all those players who have driven drunk, assaulted someone, smoked a joint, racially abused someone, gave really nasty sledges on the field and upset opponents, spat on opposing players and engaged in wild orgies are all ruled ineligible. To my way of thinking that clears the decks, and enables John Chicka Ferguson as the only person left, who has ever played league, to now be acknowledged as an immortal. Perhaps along with Ken Wilson, Michael Ryan Brett Hetherington, and Geoff Bugden. Go the JETS!!!
Manly Man
Guest
I'm from QLD Mapleton ( just outside of Brisbane) and I have to say all the stuff that oiks has said is not true loads of kids are playing rugby league and us QLDers do not feel that Andrew johns becoming a immortal was a conspiracy to "fail QLD RL". I think it's just Oikee. -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.