A major Australian rugby league magazine Rugby League Week

Rugby League Week

Rugby League Week is the second highest selling Australian rugby league magazine, behind major competitor Big League...

in 1981 selected an exclusive group of players dubbed "The Immortals". The group consisted of Clive Churchill

Clive Churchill

Clive Bernard Churchill AM was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach of the mid-20th century. An Australian international and New South Wales and Queensland interstate representative fullback, he played the majority of his club football with and later coached the South Sydney Rabbitohs...

, Bob Fulton

Bob Fulton

Robert "Bob" Fulton AM is an Australian rugby league football identity. Fulton played, coached, selected for and has commentated on the game with great success at the highest levels and has been named amongst Australia's greatest rugby league players of the 20th century.As a player Fulton won...

, Reg Gasnier

Reg Gasnier

Reg Gasnier AM is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach, regarded as one of the 20th century's finest players. He played in the centres for the St. George Dragons from 1959 to 1967...

, and Johnny Raper

Johnny Raper

John Raper, MBE is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a lock forward for the Australia national team. He had a record 33 test caps between 1959 and 1968 and played in 6 World Cup games between 1960 to 1968...

. Although Rugby League Week has never held any official affiliation with any of the governing bodies of rugby league in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, the release was met with much public respect and admiration for the players listed. To coincide with this announcement, Hunter Valley vineyard 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 Week announced in 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 both Graeme Langlands

Graeme Langlands

Graeme 'Changa' Langlands, MBE, is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach of the 1960s and 70s. He retired as the most-capped player for the Australian national team with 45 from 1963 to 1975, and captained his country in 15 Test matches and World Cup games. Langlands was the...

 and Wally Lewis

Wally Lewis

Walter James "Wally" Lewis AM is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. Currently a commentator of the sport, he is widely regarded as the greatest rugby league player of all time...

. It has been said that current Brisbane Broncos great Darren Lockyer

Darren Lockyer

Darren Lockyer is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He was the captain of the Australian national team, the Queensland State of Origin team and his National Rugby League club, the Brisbane Broncos. His professional career spanned between 1995 and 2011...

 will be named an immortal though it is customary to select players only after they have been at least five years retired.

2004 saw yet another addition to the list of Immortals, with Arthur Beetson

Arthur Beetson

Arthur Henry "Artie" Beetson, OAM , was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He represented Australia and Queensland from 1964 to 1981. His position was at prop. Beetson became the first Indigenous Australian to captain his country in any sport. and is frequently cited as the best...

becoming the seventh member.http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/22/1064082936585.html?from=storyrhs

Although the tag of Immortal continues to be a highly respected one for any player to obtain, it has been criticised for thus far only being awarded to post-war players.