Immortals to be rugby league's top honour

The whole concept lost its meaning for me when Johns was inducted. He was a great player, no doubt about it, and perhaps one day he may of made it. BUT I doubt he deserved recognition over many of the names listed above. I don’t even consider him the best half of his era, but that is a personal opinion. Dally M medals should not really come in to it either. It is easy for a great player to garner votes in a team of up and comers or has beens. Not so easy when you are surrounded by other great champions. Billy Slater in any other team would of won three by now! For what it is worth I think there should be one inductee every four years. Most of the names above deserve debate, but there will forever be a smear on this award over the Johns elevation. Perhaps this award should of been left where it was and a new concept adopted that included the entire history of the game, but as always the NRL only half think things through. Seems to be the way of the world. Perhaps Hall of Fame, and from there Hall of Fame Elite, or something similar. New rules and all encompassing. Imagine the furore if Todd Carney or Matt Lodge become the footballer Johns, Lewis, or Fulton were. Would they be afforded the same leniency for their off field antics as Johns has been?

Great comment about the great Ron Coote. Fully agree and he was a great bloke as well. Ron Coote for immortal - yes indeed.

Just wait a second the only reference to Bevan playing for Easts again is the following. In 1961, he returned to Australia to play for Easts in a seven-a-side tournament for Keith Holman’s testimonial.

Personally thin k that everyone from the team if the century should be made immortals . They were considered the best of the best in there position. Look at a player like Coote his record at domestic level from 65-75 , he was the most dominate player of that 10 year period 9 GF’s in a 11 seasons, the first player to win the Harry Sunderland medal twice, 70&74 and was a big reason we won the ashes in 67. From 65-71 rabbits only miss a GF in 66 . In 72 he moves from the rabbits to the Roosters and they make a GF that year In 73 Coote suffers groin injury plus breaks his arm and doesn’t really feature , no GF for Roosters that year, we know what happened in 74/75. In 76 he Is killing it again until he re- breaks his arm, and the Roosters without Coote are not the same team. Coote is never the same player after that injury Beetson in his autobiography and at a FOGS night stated that Coote was the best player he had seen, played with or against and was the best Grand Final player of his generation . Not only that he was the prototype modern day backrower.

You're right Latte about Gene Miles .In his prime he was better than Meninga but Meninga's longevity is undeniable. Add to that he was a key figure & captain of one of the greatest club sides ever assembled the Canberra Raiders teams of late 80's/early 90's Miles' career was stellar as well but he just dosent have the overall resume to compare with what Mal Meninga accomplished

@ Wayne I agree mate. Immortals status should be used very sparingly. Hall of Famers can be a bit more generous with numbers.

Wally Lewis wasn't even first grade NRL standard so why complain about Mal. Mal unlike lazy Wally was a good performer when Qld were up against it pre Origin. When he was younger he was a better player, he went on for far too long. Chris Close did even better in those days but the best was Kerry Boustead who was the one player who outplayed tNSW by himself only for goal kicking to let them down. The man of the match in the original two State of Origin matches was Chris Close. He also made the Kangaroos team before Mal and Gene Miles. However unlike them he moved to Sydney which meant he was then put on the back burner. So one immortal never moved from Queensland except to go to England to be the highest paid pub lounger while his team got relegated. Now Mal is okay because he went to Canberra not NSW .

Well Lewis couldn't make the team in 1982. And Langlands rarely got picked for Australia at fullback. Bob Fulton didn't make the starting line up for Team of the Century. Andrew Johns had to play hooker for NSW. But I hear what you are saying. My personal opinion is the next two immortals (post war) should be Irvine and Lockyer.

Sure he lead those teams but that is due to his position as the elder statesman of the game at the time In his prime there were many better players than Mal Meninga in both QLD and NSW. As stated he could not even make the starting Kangaroo team in 1986 which is during his prime years. When all those players either retired or stood themselves down from representative games he got his position back. This shouldn't be ignored if one is to become an Immortal.

Mainly because Mal holds records for leading the Kangaroos. And "nearly lost" means they won. He was a key player for QLD during their 1980's success. By 1992-1994 he had been playing first grade for over a decade and was not the player he once was. And the great Canberra/Balmain sides contributing to NSW had a big effect on who won Origin in those years. And Mal led that great Canberra team. I think they might also be factoring his coaching career into it. If they start doing that then we may see people like Harry Bath, Jack Gibson and Wayne Bennett included in future, or even the great refs. Gene Miles was special. A great second rower in the back half of his career as well. His one-handed offload was brilliant. But in their prime Mal was considered the better player. Funnily enough in the very early 80's Chris Close would have shaded both of them. Until he stacked on too much weight Close was the most destructive runner of his generation.

Not sure why Mal Meninga is considered as an Immortal. Gene Miles was a better centre than Mal Meninga and is not even in the discussion. Mal Meninga could not even make the 1986 Kangaroos team. He was the natural successor to Wally Lewis for QLD and the Australian team he lead nearly lost the Ashes in 1990 and 1994. Mal Meninga is being recognised for being a great leader but he lead QLD to three successive Origin defeats between 1992-1994 and his exploits with Canberra were as a result of being part of a star studded team. His longevity may work in his favour but he was by no means the top player or centre of his era. It's disappointing how people forget when there are other players more deserving of this honour.

Maybe for the first few entries, we have 2 - a pre World War 2 and a post World War 2 entry, to correct the original imbalance, where immortals had to have played from 1945 onwards.

The restructure and emphasis on the Hall of Fame is long overdue. We now need to ensure that there is a set number of inductees each year (after this initial clean up) and strict criteria on immortal status. For what it's worth, any of Dally Messenger, Frank Burge, Dave Brown, Duncan Thompson, Norm Provan, Ken Irvine, Ron Coote, Mal Meninga or Darren Lockyer would be worthy immortals. But I would like to see only one every year or two years, rather than rush them all in. that way, each player gets his due. I would also like to see preference in a tight vote given to older players to hopefully give them their recognition before they pass away.

Because Summons was a good player, but not in the immortal class, maybe not even hall of fame. He just happened to captain that team in the mud.

Summons - Provan trophy. That's what they play for. Why not them.

Memory plays tricks , but I remembered seeing Bevan play for Eastern Suburbs and he did not get many opportunities. Perhaps it would have been written as performance. I do not doubt his genius in UK as evidenced from video replays. I repeat. If BB is granted Immortal status I would applaud.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "epitomises a generation" Wayne? I completely agree Immortal status should only be awarded to a select few who have had a profound effect on the game. Guys like JT in years to come should be considered under this heading and Cameron Smith as well, because they materially changed how the game was played in their individual positions and, as a result, the game has improved. The other current Immortals all fit that same criterion, whereas Hall of Famers have played at a very high level for years without changing the way the game is played for the better. Guys like Wayne Pearce, Beaver Menzies, etc would fit into this category, outstanding footballers but not quite to the same level as Immortals.

I don't know what you mean by Bevan's performances in Australia at the end of his career? Bevan's career played out in England - at a time when they were the dominant rugby league nation. The only chance he had to prove his worth in internationals was when playing for Other Nationalities, where Irvine went on record as proclaiming Bevan's genius. Brian Bevan was a true blue Aussie from Bondi - it was the Second World War and the Australian Royal Navy that took him to England. Surely, his career achievements can't be diminished because of that?