The NRL has announced a shortlist of ten players who will be considered to become the next rugby league Immortal, with the list featuring Dally Messenger, Mal Meninga and Darren Lockyer.
Alongside Messenger, Meninga and Lockyer are Frank Burge, Dave Brown, Brian Bevan, Duncan Hall, Norm Provan, Ken Irvine and Ron Coote.
Messenger is considered to be one of the favourites for the prestigious honour. The award for best player in the game at season’s end – the Dally M – is named after him and he was one of the original pioneers of the game.
Meninga played 155 games in the Brisbane Rugby League competition before spending nine years at the Raiders. He played 42 Origins and 84 Test matches while Lockyer played his whole career at the Broncos, representing Queensland 38 times and Australia 62.
Of the other candidates, Frank Burge was a try-scoring machine, grabbing 153 in 151 games for Glebe to go with his 46 in 36 games playing in the green and gold, while South Sydney’s Ron Coote pulled on the national jersey 42 times. He has the Ron Coote Cup between South Sydney and the Sydney Roosters named after him.
One of the best centres to ever lace up a boot, Ken Irvine is another favourite for the honour, having played 33 matches for the Kangaroos during the 1950s and 60s, scoring 33 tries at one per game during that time.
The Immortal concept, formerly owned by Rugby League Week, was signed over to the NRL after the publication collapsed in 2017.
Rugby League Week launched the concept in 1981, naming an original group of four players who they believed to be the greatest in history. The four were Clive Churchill, Bob Fulton, Reg Gasnier and Johnny Raper.
In 1999, Graeme Langlands and Wally Lewis were added, with Arthur Beetson becoming the seventh Immortal in 2003. The eighth and final Immortal to be added by the publication was Andrew Johns.
There is currently no timeline on when the eighth Immortal will be announced, however, it’s expected to happen this year.
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