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TheImmortals ofrugby league in Australia are players named as the nation's greatest ever. From 1981 to 2017 the Immortals were named by the Australian magazineRugby League Week. From 2018, theNational Rugby League took over the Immortals concept.
Established in 1981, the original group consisted of formerTest captainsClive Churchill,Bob Fulton,Reg Gasnier, andJohnny Raper. AlthoughRugby League Week (RLW) did not hold any official affiliation with the governing bodies of rugby league in Australia, the release was met with much public respect and admiration for the players listed. To coincide with this announcement,Hunter Valley vineyard Elliots Wines released, in conjunction withRugby League Week, four bottles of 1977 vintage port as a boxed set. Each player was represented on the label of one of the bottles.
Eighteen years later,Rugby League Week announced in 1999 its intention to select a fifth member of the Immortals. The panel of experts was unable to decide on a single player, so it was announced that the next additions to the Immortals would beGraeme Langlands andWally Lewis. 2003 saw the addition ofArthur Beetson as the seventh Immortal.[1]
Andrew Johns was inducted as the eighth Immortal at the Men of League Gala Dinner the week of the2012 NRL Grand Final. The judges who deliberated over candidates wereWayne Bennett (seven-time premiership winning coach, former Queensland Origin coach),Ray Warren (Channel Nine network television senior commentator),John Grant (Chairman ARL Commission), David Middleton (leading rugby league historian),Ray Hadley (radio and Channel Nine network television commentator), Phil Rothfield (News Limited),Roy Masters (journalist, Fairfax Media), Geoff Prenter (RLW Founding Editor 1970-81), Ian Heads (RLW Editor 1981-87), Norman Tasker (RLW Editor 1988-2000), Tony Durkin (RLW Editor 2001-02), Martin Lenehan (RLW Editor 2003-11) and Mitchell Dale (RLW Editor).[2] The living Immortals at the time (Fulton, Raper, Langlands, and Lewis) were also granted a vote.
Although the tag of Immortal continues to be a highly respected one, it was initially criticised for only being awarded to post-war players.[citation needed] It was agreed by the first judges in 1981 (Frank Hyde,Harry Bath and Tom Goodman), that they could only judge on players they had seen in action. To overcome entrenched criticism over Johns' admitted use of recreational drugs during his playing career, the rules were altered in 2012 so the candidates can only be judged on their playing ability alone, and nothing else.[3] With the closure ofRugby League Week in 2017, the concept was taken over by theAustralian Rugby League Commission.[4] To be eligible to be considered, the player must be a member of theNational Rugby League Hall of Fame.[5]
On 1 August 2018, a further five players were announced as Immortals, bringing the total to thirteen. They wereDave Brown,Frank Burge,Mal Meninga,Dally Messenger, andNorm Provan. It was the first time that the three pre-World War II champions could be considered for this recognition, as it had previously been an award restricted to post-World War II players.[6]
| Player | Inducted | Premierships won |
|---|---|---|
| Clive Churchill | 1981 | 6 |
| Bob Fulton | 1981 | 3 |
| Reg Gasnier | 1981 | 7 |
| Johnny Raper | 1981 | 8 |
| Graeme Langlands | 1999 | 4 |
| Wally Lewis | 1999 | 3 |
| Arthur Beetson | 2003 | 4 |
| Andrew Johns | 2012 | 2 |
| Dave Brown | 2018 | 4 |
| Frank Burge | 2018 | 0 |
| Mal Meninga | 2018 | 5 |
| Dally Messenger | 2018 | 3 |
| Norm Provan | 2018 | 10 |
| Ron Coote | 2024 | 6 |
There are four living Immortals:Andrew Johns (age51),Wally Lewis (65) ,Mal Meninga (65), andRon Coote (81). The last Immortal to die wasJohnny Raper, on 9 February 2022.[7]
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