The next Immortal- You Nomination and Why

king megator said:

Alfie , Coaching somewhere????....

Click to expand...

Nah.

Mutually agreed he would become an ambassador for the club.

I get the feeling Griffo is cleaning house. Can't say I blame him. For a club that has an impeccable two decade reputation, they did flounder this season with Lockyer gone. RL is cyclical, it's happened to all great dynastic teams - Roosters, Souths, Balmain, Parramatta - where you hit the bottom. But then you bounce back. The ups and downs are all part and parcel and the Broncos shouldn't be immune from it either.

The Mad Hatter said:

Nah.

Mutually agreed he would become an ambassador for the club.

I get the feeling Griffo is cleaning house. Can't say I blame him. For a club that has an impeccable two decade reputation, they did flounder this season with Lockyer gone. RL is cyclical, it's happened to all great dynastic teams - Roosters, Souths, Balmain, Parramatta - where you hit the bottom. But then you bounce back. The ups and downs are all part and parcel and the Broncos shouldn't be immune from it either.

Click to expand...

I agree totally except watch for Langer to pop up somewhere like Kevin Walters does!

I use to love Steve Walters. What a great player.

Chris i hear you mate.... Look i follow the Broncos and have done sense 1988 day one , but as one eyed as i might sound i love watching great footy week in week out.... For example if Souths are playing great footy i dont mind watching them play even if i dont follow them.... I live here on the North shore in Sydney and i also work close to Manly but i can not watch Manly games unless its when my Broncos are playing them.... There surporters really piss me off and the team sucks if you ask me.... If the Broncos dont win the comp each year i guess its still cool if a few sides like Souths or Parra win as long as the Dogs and Manly do not....

Alfies quit his coaching/18th man role for a suite job in the Broncos office.

king megator said:

Chris i hear you mate.... Look i follow the Broncos and have done sense 1988 day one , but as one eyed as i might sound i love watching great footy week in week out.... For example if Souths are playing great footy i dont mind watching them play even if i dont follow them.... I live here on the North shore in Sydney and i also work close to Manly but i can not watch Manly games unless its when my Broncos are playing them.... There surporters really piss me off and the team sucks if you ask me.... If the Broncos dont win the comp each year i guess its still cool if a few sides like Souths or Parra win as long as the Dogs and Manly do not....

Click to expand...

On my day, I carry a grievance with the best of them. So don't fret.

And if I know someone really, really loves a team - say Para - and they've hit rock bottom emotionally and I can needle them just that one more bit to set them right off, boy do I do it. The stock comment is I tell 'em they should merge with Penrith and become the Greater Western Sydney Peelers. Now I love Para, I love the blue and gold, I love the 80's squads. But fark, it sets my wife off when she hears it.

The only team I don't bag in any way, ever, is Canberra. God bless 'em. Something about that Green Machine I look upon fondly every time, even though they went to Super League (I don't remember it). Except that f***ing stupid white, blue, yellow V on their jersey now. WTF is that about?!?! But otherwise, they're completely immune of my irrational NRL wrath.

But back on topic...

Who do you reckon the 9th Immortal will be?

I would have said Lockyer. But Slater?

Lockyer. But I think you have to be retired 5 years first. I would think Mals chance has come and gone.

The whole thing needs an overhaul IMO. I would like to see a hall of fame similar to what they have in Baseball and NFL. Far to many good players get forgotten.

Well if they are going for the modern day player it has to be Lockyer.... He has the record for most games played at club level and rep , 4 Premiership wins and need i say 6 SOO wins in a row.... He has done it all at the highest level and he done it for a very long time against the best there was at the time....

The ARLC need to wrest back the Immortals and Dally M's and set up a proper awards program, rising star program and Hall of Fame.

This is so off topic, but I emailed the new museum and asked them if they had any Annandale or Glebe gear, and they said no, it doesn't exist. But they do have some nice photos.

And let's not forget the guys who did have ALL the photos for 100 years burnt down, so all the images they scanned for the centenary are all that are left. http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/historic-photos-up-in-smoke/2009/01/30/1232818738201.html

Lockyer will be the next one, I'd say. Personally I don't think he is quite up to the standard of the other Immortals ... purely because I rated him much more as a fullback than a five eighth. If he's played his whole career at fullback, then I'd have no doubt he'd be the equal of any of the other Immortals.

- inside the white lines...... hella funny, the irony with andrew johns getting the nod

Well going by the last Immortal inducted it would be safe to say the next immortal will be Trent from punchbowl .

All jokes aside, to have players like Provan, Coote, Sterling, Mal, Langer (and many more) missing out is a real shame. A overhaul is well overdue.

The Mad Hatter said:

I go for Souths.

But I'm not that one eyed as a member/supporter that I do not appreciate great players. Don't get me wrong, as I have said all along, I don't hate Johns and I really, really rated him as a player. But I still reckon Coote, Provan and Meninga are above him at this stage (and Johns is still only - what 5 years out of the game?). I'd even rate Lockyer higher.

And for mine, what happens off the field should count, and Coote, Provan and Meninga stand high in that regards with what they have achieved ON and OFF the field. But since that isn't the criteria, the mark of a man in the modern world means stuff all. However, to someone like me, it does.

Click to expand...

What exactly did he do off the field that was so terrible? Took drugs every now and then. Guess what, alcohol is a drug too that causes far more problems in society and results in many more deaths than ecstasy. I wonder how many players have been out there getting blind all the time in the past...but apparently that is different. What are we going to bring up next, speeding fines? I mean Johns was only endangering himself when he took drugs, people speeding endanger others on the road. It's funny how so many people get up on their high horse and talk about morals when more than likely they have done at least a few illegal things throughout their life. How about being drunk in public? Yep that's illegal, i'm sure many people here and also players have broken that law. Jaywalking? Where do we draw the line?

KyleP said:

What exactly did he do off the field that was so terrible? Took drugs every now and then. Guess what, alcohol is a drug too that causes far more problems in society and results in many more deaths than ecstasy. I wonder how many players have been out there getting blind all the time in the past...but apparently that is different. What are we going to bring up next, speeding fines? I mean Johns was only endangering himself when he took drugs, people speeding endanger others on the road. It's funny how so many people get up on their high horse and talk about morals when more than likely they have done at least a few illegal things throughout their life. How about being drunk in public? Yep that's illegal, i'm sure many people here and also players have broken that law. Jaywalking? Where do we draw the line?

Click to expand...

We are talking about a immortal here not a junkie!

Carter said:

We are talking about a immortal here not a junkie!

Click to expand...

Yeah, and we're also talking about a footballer, not someone applying to man the Pearly Gates, but that seems to escape some people... As a FOOTBALLER, dead-set legend. Its easier to influence the game behind an winning pack, just ask Chris Sandow. Yet Johns dominated even when his front line could not, thats what seperates the great halves from the very good... I say good on Johns. If people are so worried about his alleged mis-deeds and want to hold up a paragon of virtue in the football world, theres already awards in place for that.

kyleP, god bless you mate, you are one SPECIAL individual and i pray for mankind when i hear from people like you....

On the whole booze verse junk issue, booze isn't illegal.

Maybe they need to incorporate a few more categories or maybe not
Immortals
Legends of League
Hall of Fame

AyiosYiorgos said:

Maybe they need to incorporate a few more categories or maybe not
Immortals
Legends of League
Hall of Fame

Click to expand...

spot on and should be the ARL and not a magazine doing it.

Article by the goose

NORM Provan already holds a special place in rugby league history, his image forever etched on the NRL grand final trophy.
But should he become an Immortal too and join legends Clive Churchill, Bob Fulton, Reg Gasnier, Johny Raper, Graeme Langlands, Wally Lewis, Arthur Beetson and Andrew Johns?
His little mate Arthur Summons turned it into a public debate again on Thursday at the NRL grand final lunch, declaring Norm should be included and it was a "disgrace" that he hadn’t already been.
Provan played in 10 of St George's 11 straight premierships, four as captain-coach. He played a record 285 games for the club between 1951 and 1965, a record that was only broken in recent years by Ben Hornby.
He was obviously a wonderful second-rower and a great leader, but realistically the fourth or fifth best player in the superstar teams he played in
His name and credentials were discussed when I was on a judging panel last year to name the eighth Immortal.
The panel included the living Immortals, super coach Wayne Bennett, ARLC chairman John Grant, Roy Masters, former Rugby League Week editors Ian Heads and Geoff Prenter, along with historian David Middleton.
Provan’s name came up. And he had his supporters in the room.
But the general opinion was that if he wasn’t included last time, why now?
He had been overlooked every time the judges sat down.
And not everyone can be an Immortal. The more you pick, the less exclusive it becomes.
If we were going to turn the clock back, what about another old champion like Ron Coote, in my opinion the best player I’ve seen outside the Immortals.
Or how about Mal Meninga or the recently-retired Darren Lockyer.
If I’m on the panel next time around, I won’t be turning the clock back to the 50s and 60s.
Norm is already recognised as one of the 100 greatest players of all time, he’s in the Team of the Century.
It’s time to move forward.
Meninga or Lockyer will be at the forefront. They were out and out champions.
And in the next decade we’ll have more greats to consider like current players Cameron Smith, Johnathan Thurston and Greg Inglis. Maybe even Billy Slater too.
Norm Provan’s record
- Named in the second row in Australian Rugby League Team of the Century
- Named in the the NSW Team of the Century
- Appeared in 11 straight grand finals
- Won 10 consecutive premierships
- 19 appearances for NSW
- 14 Tests for Australia
- Inducted into Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame
- Named on the list of Australia’s 100 Greatest Players
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...s-phil-rothfield/story-fni3fh9n-1226732412133