The Immortals of rugby league in Australia are players named as the nation's greatest ever. From 1981 to 2017 The Immortals were named by the Australian sports magazineRugby League Week. From 2018, the National Rugby League took over The Immortals concept. Established in 1981, the original group consisted of former Test captains Clive Churchill, Bob Fulton, Reg Gasnier, and Johnny Raper. Although Rugby League Week did not hold any official affiliation with any of the governing bodies of rugby league in Australia, the release was met with much public respect and admiration for the players listed. To coincide with this announcement, Hunter Valleyvineyard Elliots Wines released, in conjunction with Rugby League Week, four bottles of 1977 vintage port as a boxed set. Each player was represented on the label of each of the bottles. Returning eighteen years later, Rugby League Weekannouncedin 1999 its intention to select a fifth member of The Immortals. However, the panel of experts chosen to pick the next Immortal was unable to decide on a sole player; it was then announced that the next additions to The Immortals would be Graeme Langlands and Wally Lewis. 2003 saw the addition of Arthur Beetson as the seventh Immortal. Andrew Johns was inducted as the eighth Immortal at the Men of League Gala Dinner the week of the 2012 NRL Grand Final. The judges who deliberated over candidates were: Wayne Bennett, Ray Warren, JohnGrant, David Middleton, Ray Hadley, Phil Rothfield, Roy Masters, Geoff Prenter, Ian Heads, Norman Tasker, Tony Durkin, Martin Lenehan and Mitchell Dale. The current living Immortals were also granted a vote. Although the tag of Immortal continues to be a highly respected one for any player to obtain, it was initially criticised for only being awarded to post-war players. However, it was agreed by the first judges in 1981, that they could only judge on players they had seen in action. Furthermore, to overcome entrenched criticism over Johns' admitted use of recreational drugs during his playing career, the rules were altered so the candidates can only be judged on their playing ability alone, and nothing else. With the closure of Rugby League Week in 2017, the concept was taken over by the Australian Rugby League Commission. On 1 August 2018, a further five players were announced as Immortals, bringing the tally to thirteen. They were Mal Meninga, Norm Provan, Frank Burge, Dave Brown and Dally Messenger. It was the first time that the latter three pre-World War II champions could be considered for this recognition, as it had previously been an award restricted to post-World War II players.
