On Wednesday night, those more used to getting down and dirty in the rugby league trenches will dust off their penguin suits for the NRL’s Hall of Fame dinner at the SCG, at which the sport’s next Immortal will be announced. It’s a stellar field to choose from, and it would be difficult to argue with any of the likely candidates, headlined by the stars of Queensland’s golden generation. Most expect the NRL’s most decorated individual player, Cameron Smith, to get the nod.
After all, the criteria for players to be inducted into the Hall of Fame – a prerequisite for Immortal eligibility – has been changed, which means Smith could probably have been sized up for his blazer yesterday. Players previously had to be retired for five years, but now only need to have been out of the game for three. Smith hung up the boots at the end of the 2020 season.
But what if rugby league had a chance for its past and present to be intertwined, with two inductees on the one night? The NRL has given no public indication it will veer from plans to induct just one former player as the 14th Immortal, which has been decided after a secret vote of 15 panellists. The same panel members helped choose the 11 players recently welcomed into the larger Hall of Fame , causing a stir by giving former hardman Les Boyd the nod despite an awful judiciary record . The beauty of the Immortals concept – founded by the old Rugby League Week and taken over by the NRL – lies in the quality of those no.