The next Immortal- You Nomination and Why

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steven1959

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As the title says, name your next Immortal and why. Note no player in is eligible within 5 years of retiring.

Mine: Meninga. Outstanding stats at all levels of the game, coach of QLD, Australia and community support. Longshot- Peter Stirling - should have got top Team of Century beating Billy Smith(still scratching my head on that one) and Barry Muir(spat on ref- ruled out).




Will enjoy your comments


UPDATE NOMINEES ARE: Mal Meninga, Andrew Johns,Steve Rodgers, Preston Campbell, Ron Coote,Norm Provan, Freddie Fittler, Ray Price, Darren Lockyer, Dallas Donnolly
 
Not sure about the older players but id have to say Meninga....complete career in NRL/Origin and for Australia.
 
steven1959 said:
As the title says, name your next Immortal and why. Note no player in is eligible within 5 years of retiring.

Mine: Meninga. Outstanding stats at all levels of the game, coach of QLD, Australia and community support. Longshot- Peter Stirling - should have got top Team of Century beating Billy Smith(still scratching my head on that one) and Barry Muir(spat on ref- ruled out).

Will enjoy your comments
Click to expand...

The criteria for selecting the next Immortal excludes Mals QLD Coaching / managing exploits also his community support....although perhaps should include the fact he is a rude bugger to the fans at times. The criteria has been simplified to "on field achievement" only.

Based on that I would pick Andrew Johns, the best player I have ever seen live.

I do have a soft spot for another St George legend though..........Steve Rogers.

Cheers
Ross
 
Mal Meninga would be the last person I would pick. He treats fans like they are nothing. And once said "Rugby League had given him nothing".

Not saying that Preston should be an immortal at all, but, Whilst Peston Campbell has not had a decorated representative career like Mal, Preston has done way more for the game than Mal ever could or is willing to do.
 
good player in his time preston :) however i think meninga will get it - personally there is not alot of competition against him. Sterling/Daley/etc were not as good players as meninga was. Johns could probably top meninga however i think the NRL would be sending the wrong message across (even though The criteria has been simplified to "on field achievement" only.)
 
TAKING ecstasy or coaching Queensland to six consecutive Origin series wins ... neither will matter when it comes to determining who becomes the eighth Immortal.
In a move sure to polarise rugby league fans, Rugby League Week magazine has announced "on-field achievement" will be the sole criteria for determining entrants to the code's most prestigious club.
The Daily Telegraph understands that when all 13 judges meet to determine the next Immortal in July, the group - which includes Wayne Bennett, Phil Rothfield and Ray Hadley - will be reminded to ignore everything that has taken place outside the white line, with only achievements on the field carrying weight.
Such a revelation will completely change the way some fans view the award.
For several years it was whispered that Meninga, among the front-runners for inclusion, saw his odds shorten every time the Maroons team he coached again blitzed the Blues. It was also thought Kangaroo legend Ron Coote had greater claims because of his work establishing charity organisation The Men Of League Foundation.

Conversely, back in 2007 it was feared Newcastle icon Andrew Johns may never be bestowed Immortality after he admitted to playing "Russian roulette" with drugs throughout his playing career. The Newcastle legend made the stunning confession after being caught in possession of an ecstasy tablet overseas, thought to be another black mark against his name. We now know that is not the case.
Speaking last night, RLW editor-in-chief Martin Lenehan confirmed the "on-field" edict, saying the magazine was staying true to the same rules that saw the original four of Clive Churchill, Reg Gasnier, John Raper and Bob Fulton anointed in 1981.
Wally Lewis and Graeme Langlands were added in 1999 while the late Arthur Beetson became the first indigenous Immortal in 2003.
Right now, Meninga and Johns are shortest-priced for the gong, with St George legend Norm Provan and Coote in the mix. Others set to make the list include Peter Sterling, Alfie Langer, Ken Irvine and Steve Rogers.
Incredibly, the Immortals concept was created to help sell - of all things - a new range of port. With four bottles in the range, they needed four legends to front the campaign.
And so one of Australian sport's most elite clubs was born. In the ensuing 31 years, the gong has incurred all sorts of scandal like the original omission of Changa, the eligibility of Johns and an unsuccessful attempt by the NRL to claim ownership of an award it never created.
Even last year, retired Kangaroo Peter Peters earned widespread condemnation for suggesting it would be "a joke" if outgoing Brisbane, Queensland and Australian skipper Darren Lockyer were inducted. Yet Lockyer would be up for consideration this year were it not for a five-year "cooling period" placed on all retiring players.
 
With Johns totally understand the call for Immortal status. Points for Newcastle - 2,176(wiki) but for reasons this was not converted at Test level. I feel for Johns but most of us have done something and had to wear the consequences, that is life. Yes the criteria is "inside the white lines" and that channel 9 interview certainly made clear what was going on in the "white Lines". I congratualate him for maning up at the time but at the same time "The Big Picture" normally takes care of it's own. As sad as it may be, that admission of "running the gauntlet" during the season may haunt him, adding to the personal cost he( family, friends and fellow players/supporters) suffered. link below is part two of interview

 
Norm Provan should have been an immortal but the powers that be didn't want it dominated by St.George players. Ron Coote would be a good nomination, but it will come down to Mal Meninga and Johns..
 
Ron Coote, Norm Provan, Ray Price, Mal Meninga.

Seriously though...the Immortals is a schlock gimmick run by a RL magazine.

If the NRL was run properly, they'd be a bloody hall of fame, where each year FIVE players get nominated.

The Hall of Fame would be housed in the NRL Museum.

Each club would have its own room, filled with booty: sox, jerseys, boots, shorts, past glories, cups, champion players, footy cards, etc.

There'd be a rep section for NSW, QLD and Australia.

There'd be interactive 3D films, plenty to do for adults and kids alike. There'd be old recordings, interviews done with as many players as there are archives, and anyone who ever strapped on a boot for first grade should be involved.

Seriously...there is NOTHING for Glebe or Annandale out there. Newtown went by the by in 1983, Illawarra and St George in 1998, Western Suburbs and Balmain and North Sydney in 1999. In 20 years, they will be vague memories to 95% of league fans. When the stalwarts start passing away - Raper, Langlands, Coote, Sattler, McCarthy - those great men will be lost to us to the sands of time. We need to be recording and archiving all their stories NOW!!!

And DVDs/Blu Rays! Have you seen the s#it that passes as the NOUGHTIES DVD set? Puh-lease!!! It is pathetic and not worth buying. I could think of 100 golden memories from the 00's that aren't on it. Check out what the AFL provides its fans, then compare the slops our AV people provide us.

And do I have to remind people of the fire in 2009 that destroyed most of the RL photos??? All those CLASSIC photos you see of players...gone...except if they were backed up. Pretty much ALL the photos used as stock during the Centenary, even the ones on the footy cards...burnt and destroyed unless backed up. I believe it was basically 5% of photos survived.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...ics-lost-in-fire/story-e6freuzi-1111118720662


This should have all been done PRIOR to the Centenary. The emphasis should have been rammed up DURING the Centenary. There are good people out there keeping these things in good nick...but now is the time for the NRL to build its museum.

So anyway...a bit off topic...but whilst RLW sells papers, the true heritage of the RL is disappearing before our very eyes, and most people wouldn't even know.

PS - if you know anyone with an Annandale or Glebe jersey, get them to call me.
 
Rekless said:
Is there only 1 being inducted? I also think Freddie could be a dark horse.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure they have said only one, but recall Hadley saying that if they can't split two then they will see if they can induct two.

Your right as well Freddie deserves to be in the mix as well.
 
I have to say, for those who remember 1995 and Super League...I still shudder when I remember Mal Meninga saying RL had given him nothing. But 17 years later, I've eased a bit on that front.

And consider this:
11 Grand Final appearances (5 Canberra Raiders NSWRL, 6 Souths BRL)
45 Tests for Australia, 23 as captain.
4 Kangaroo Tours : 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994 - the last 2 as captain.
272 Test points and 551 in total for Australia.
32 QLD SoO appearances, 42 rep matches for QLD.

Canberra
5 tries in a match
3 Grand Final wins
166 matches
4 broken arms
38 points on ONE match.
864 points - 283 goals ALL toe poked.

Another 150 matches played with Brisbane Souths & St Helens - 306 in total.
*** There is a paucity of stats for his Souths years.

Team of the Century
Top 100 of the Century
NRL Hall of Fame

Coach of QLD SoO for 6 straight series wins.

This is a contemporary article about Mal, written as he retired in 1994 at the end of the Kangaroo Tour.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...n-australian-rugby-league-legend-1450892.html

Don't seem to recall him on the pi$$, taking recreational drugs, covered in tats or acting like a tosser. Sure, he's said a couple of dumb things (haven't we all), but if that went against a RL bloke, there'd be no immortals at all.

He works tirelessly off the field in a number of capacities, not only RL. He was a police officer in his playing days in QLD.

A proud Australian, Queenslander and RL player. You wouldn't see him pi$$ing off to AFL or RU.

I honestly, truly believe that he is most deserving of the next Immortal spot in RLW's Immortal's competition.
 
I thought there was a NRL hall of fame somewhere Hatter?

Biased but my vote woyld be Johns. Single handedly changed how the game is played. In saying that Meninga would be worthy too.
 
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