Revealed: The 25 superstars fighting to join the National Rugby League Hall of Fame
WITH the NRL set to induct a new wave of members into its elite Hall of Fame, we can reveal the enviable list of 25 greats who are fighting for the six coveted spots. FIND OUT WHO IS IN.
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IT’S like being forced to choose your favourite child.
Impossible.
But somehow, in what is a long overdue and undeniably brilliant recognition for rugby league’s greatest players, the NRL Hall of Fame will induct six new players.
Alongside the NRL’s unveiling of a further two Immortals, a gala dinner will be held at the SCG on August 1 where the six champions will join the 100 greats, named 10 years ago, inside rugby league’s revamped and certain-to-be revered, Hall of Fame.
VOTE: Who do you think will make it?
The lofty six will be selected from an enviable list of 25 players, which The Sunday Telegraph in conjunction with Fox Sports can reveal for the first time today.
Among the final shortlist of 25 are the best of the best, including Gorden Tallis, Danny Buderus, Craig Young, Ricky Stuart, Steve Renouf, Bob Linder and Greg Alexander.
Those seven stars alone would walk into any Australian side.
But remember, there can only be six. And that’s when the debate begins.
HAVE YOUR SAY — VOTE IN OUR NRL HALL OF FAME POLL BELOW
Not a single player, who has ever played a premiership match, has been overlooked in the selection process.
The nomination of Jack ‘Bluey’ Watkins, a former Test lock-forward, who made his first grade debut 105 years ago with Easts, is evidence of the diligent and thorough ballot process.
What began with an original list of all 9827 players who have played a first grade match, was then whittled down to 400, 300, then 100 and finally 25.
The process was both a combination of a metric system, which allocated a value to every player, and a screening committee which comprised former players, including Wally Lewis, distinguished media and league historians.
“The way the metrics work is we look at all of the possible career achievements a player can attain throughout their career and we place a value alongside that,’’ Frank Puletua, NRL awards manager and Hall of Fame sub-committee member, said.
“Once the values had been placed against the player, we re-compiled the list of all players who have played the game, based on the aggregate of points they managed to achieve via the metrics.
“Petero Civoniceva for example, with his three premierships, 33 Origins and 45 Test matches — that provided him with one of the highest aggregate scores, so he was sitting inside the top five on the list.’’
Still, rugby league is nothing without conjecture and debate.
And it’s the glaring omission of several past luminaries which will set the opinions alight.
Parramatta’s 330-game legend Nathan Hindmarsh, 1999 premiership-winner and Clive Churchill medallist Brett Kimmorley, Cronulla’s two-time Dally M medal winner Gavin Miller and three-times grand finalist David Gillespie were all notable omissions from the final 25.
“The process was a real eye-opener,’’ Puletua said.
“Some of the debates that went on were really interesting in that actual perceived loyalties were pushed aside.
“A person who you thought would’ve certainly voted for a particular Queenslander, or New South Welshman or Kiwi, went the other way — which is almost blasphemy.
“But the sub-committee gave the screening committee a really detailed briefing on what the expectations were.
“There was an attitude of leaving biases at the door and that’s what took place.’’
NRL CEO Todd Greenberg said it was important the game elevated the status via the Hall of Fame by recognising the greatest players to have played the game.
“The players nominated collectively represent thousands of matches, hundreds of rugby league years and millions of memories for fans,” Greenberg said.
“Their on-field performances live on today among the many passionate supporters who saw them play — and they will never be forgotten.
“All 25 are worthy nominees, given the roles they played in making Rugby League such a great sport.”
The balloted 25 will next be culled to six by a voting college which is made up of 25 judges, including 10 current Hall of Famers, five members of the media, five historians/statisticians and five people who are independent of the game.
“By using a vast cross-section of the game, it provides a large diversity and elevates the credibility of the vote,’’ Puletua said.