Founding fathers and Origin icons: The 14 rugby league Immortals
Updated . First published
The Immortals
Andrew Johns, Norm Provan and Mal Meninga are all recent inductees as rugby league Immortals.
Currently there are 13 players named as the greatest ever, and a new member will be added on Wednesday night.
The Immortals were named by Rugby League Week from 1981 to 2017. In 2018, the NRL took over the concept.
READ MORE: The contenders to become league's 14th Immortal revealed
1981 inductee - Clive Churchill
There are few players in rugby league history who compared to the brilliance and courage of Clive Churchill.
Tagged 'The Little Master', Churchill stood at 175cm tall and weighed 76kg.
His last line of defence and power in attack became a staple trait that proved a downfall for all who faced him.
One of the greatest fullbacks of all time, he played an incredible 298 games in all.
Churchill made 157 at club level, 37 for NSW, and 91 times for Australia - including 57 tour matches and 34 Tests - before coaching South Sydney to four premierships in five years.
He died in 1985.
1981 inductee - Bob Fulton
The unorthodox brilliance of Bob Fulton propelled his career to great heights as a player and later as a coach at club and international level.
He won three premierships with Manly and represented the green and gold on 35 occasions in both Tests and World Cup matches.
Fulton accepted a rich offer to join Easts, where he played for two years, before transitioning into coaching.
At the helm of his former team, Fulton steered Manly to premiership titles in 1987 and 1996. He later coached Australia from 1989 to 1998.
Fulton died in 2021.
1981 inductee - Reg Gasnier
In a career that was ignited by St George in 1958 and ended with the Kangaroo Tour in France in 1967, Reg Gasnier was one of the great visionaries in league history.
Gasnier was the ultimate all-round rugby league player, playing 223 first-class games.
He remains the youngest captain for Australia against Great Britain, where he became a champion athlete and enhanced his ability to become an eight-time premiership winner.
Gasnier's career was cut short after his leg tragically gave way and he was carried from the field on a stretcher. Moments later, he would announce his retirement at age 28.
Gasnier died in 2014.
1981 inductee - John Raper
Like many champions of the game, John Raper was not the biggest, strongest or faster player on his team but he had the endurance that few could match.
Nicknamed 'Chook', Raper was a starring copybook tackler, famous for his low dives and instinct with the ball.
Many still laud his performance in the second Test at Swinton on the 1963 Kangaroo tour, where Australia unleashed a 12 try onslaught - with Raper having a direct hand in nine.
He ignited his career with Newtown before making the move to St George.
Raper died in 2022.
1999 inductee - Graeme Langlands
Graeme Langlands added a new sense of flare to an ageing champion Dragons line up when he joined the club in 1963.
His trademark sidestep elevated his talent onto representative teams, with his name the obvious choice for a late cover in the NSW Country team.
The fullback starred on the Kangaroo tour, partnering with Reg Gasnier to equal the Ashes Test points record.
He captained Saints from 1970 to 1976 and was the captain-coach for the Kangaroos in 1973.
Langlands died in 2018.
1999 inductee - Wally Lewis
Known as 'The King' of league, Wally Lewis embodied the passion and spirit of Origin football.
Scouted from a schoolboys rugby union tour, Lewis made his first grade debut in 1978 with Valleys.
He made his Test debut with the Kangaroos in 1981 and was captain of the team from 1984 to 1989 - following his brief omission in favour of Brett Kenny in 1982.
Lewis' ability to control the game and create try scoring situations from the inconceivable inspired his teammates and tormented his rivals.
2003 inductee - Arthur Beetson
With some subtle persuasion from Henry Holloway, Arthur Beetson established himself as one of the finest ball-playing forwards of his generation.
A pioneer for the Indigenous community, Beetson was the first Aboriginal captain of Australia in any sport.
He captained Queensland in the inaugural Sate of Origin match in 1980, which marked the beginning of a new era for the game.
Beetson passed away in 2011.
2012 inductee - Andrew Johns
Andrew Johns is one of the greatest game-changers to lace up the boot in the modern era.
His unrivalled passing and kicking were combined with textbook defence and fierce determination to set a benchmark to which all other halfbacks were compared.
Johns produced 23 points on debut against Souths to win man-of-the-match honours in 1994 before forming a long-term partnership with his brother Matthew. He won premierships in 1997 and 2001.
Among a host of awards, Johns captained NSW and Australia to victory, of which he was named player-of-the-series.
He ended his career in 2007 as the highest point scorer in the competition's history with 2176.
2018 inductee - Dave Brown
One of the most prolific point scorers in the competition's history, Dave Brown was a pioneer of the game.
Recognised by his trademark brown leather headgear, Brown developed into one of the league's greatest champions.
He smashed the Kangaroos tour point-scoring record in 1933-34 with 285 points. He played 264 first-class games in his lengthy career.
Brown's premiership records of 38 tries in a single season and 45 points in one match, both achieved in 1935, still stand.
He died in 1974.
