The NRL will anoint just the 14th Immortal on Wednesday night. But is there a case to add a 15th too, one from its past and another from the present?
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.
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.
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 theand taken over by the NRL – lies in the quality of those not included rather than those who make the cut.
Given he finished his career in 1978, a case could easily be made that time has passed him by. If Coote wasn’t included in the last mass induction in 2018 – when five players were elevated, including pre-war heroes Dally Messenger, Frank Burge and Dave Brown – then how can he be included now?Coote’s numbers are compelling: a combined six premierships with the Rabbitohs and Roosters , three World Cup wins, 24 Tests for Australia, a Clive Churchill Medal.
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