Dragons legend honoured alongside three NRL champions in Hall of Fame
Rugby league will salute the latest members into the NRL Hall of Fame on Wednesday night. See which rugby league legends the four inductees beat and VOTE IN OUR POLL.
One was a battle-hardened Kangaroo, the other a ferocious Kiwi, both now dragged together through their fierce toughness.
Former Kangaroos front-rower Craig ‘Albert’ Young and New Zealand hardman Ruben Wiki will tomorrow night be formally inducted in rugby league’s Hall of Fame.
Ex-Newcastle, NSW and Australian hooker Danny Buderus and former New Zealand halfback Stacey Jones will also be included.
They are the Class of 2019 inductees.
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Young was a brutal prop with the St George Dragons with Wiki a fierce competitor with the Canberra Raiders and New Zealand Warriors.
Buderus was a premiership-winning hooker with Newcastle, one of the finest dummy half runners of the modern era.
Jones became one of the first rugby league legends in rugby union-mad New Zealand. He was small in stature but tall in skill.
A voting college representing a cross section of rugby league selected their top five players with the final four coming through an independent audit of the votes.
Young, Buderus, Jones and Wiki will be formally added to the already impressive Hall of Fame at a function in Sydney on Wednesday night.
“All four of our player inductees will stand proudly alongside the 106 players who they will join in the Hall of Fame,” said NRL chief executive, Todd Greenberg.
“These are some of the best players of their generations, and they will now join the best of the best.
“They each dominated their respective eras and commanded enormous respect. They still do.
“This year’s Hall of Fame class is an exceptional one. We will be recognising greatness when our latest class are formally inducted.”
Young still works with the Dragons, Buderus is a NSW assistant coach while Jones in on the Warriors coaching staff.
Senior manager of NRL Awards, Frank Puletua, said the game was excited to be naming four more inductees.
“This year, we will be acknowledging our contributors as well as our players,” Puletua said.
“The Hall of Fame induction has become an incredibly important night for the game as we take the opportunity to reflect on our pioneers and our finest players.
“All four of our player inductees can now forever be known as Hall of Famers, and that only adds to their standing in the game.”
Three contributors from administration, broadcast media and print media will be announced on Wednesday night ahead of the big function.
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